Dead Metal

Dead Metal
Participation Information
UK Series	1-10, Extreme 1-2
US Series	1-2, Nickelodeon
Dutch Series	1-2
German Series	1
Other Names	Death Metal (Dutch Series)
Robot Statistics
Weight	343kg (Series 8) 112kg (247lb) (Series 7)
Dimensions	160cm (63in) x 100cm (39in) x 70cm (28in) (Series 7)
Speed	13mph (Series 8) 12mph (19km/h) (Series 7)
Power	Battery powered engine
Weapons	4000 rpm circular saw and pneumatically driven pincers
Strengths	Powerful weaponry. Large wheel base makes flipping very difficult
Weaknesses	Poor manoeuvrability

"The mean machine of the arena. Beautiful to behold, but deadly in battle..."

— The Robot Wars website on Dead Metal in the reboot

Dead Metal was one of the four original House Robots on the British TV series Robot Wars. Dead Metal was one of only three House Robots (along with Shunt and Matilda) to participate in every televised version of the show, including international versions. Designed to resemble a mechanical scorpion that had reanimated from a scrapyard, Dead Metal's signature features were a pair of front horizontal pincers and a circular saw that was originally mounted on a lifting arm, but was later mounted on a moving 'head' mechanism.

In Dutch Robot Wars, commentator Eric Corton often called it Death Metal, although the robot's name was still spelt Dead Metal during its introduction and on its statistics board.

The Robot Wars Technical Manual stated that Dead Metal was a robot from the future "Berserker" Empire of 16,000 AD. The Berserkers are cybernetically enhanced humans ruling half the galaxy and utilising thermonuclear robots to invade resistant planets and execute political dissidents. Dead Metal was ostensibly brought back through a time loop and subdued.

Design

• Dead Metal in testing shortly before Series 1
• Dead Metal on display
• Dead Metal's insides
• Dead Metal's base plate
• A closer look at Dead Metal's internals
• Official shot of Dead Metal from Series 4
• Dead Metal is reconstructed for Series 5
• Dead Metal with Sgt. Bash and Matilda during a photoshoot
• Dead Metal with Chris Rowland and Terry Bates during a photoshoot
• Dead Metal being introduced in Series 1

1/10

"It looked like the cross between a sort of lobster, and something that sort of formed from the scrapyard."

— Chris Reynolds

Dead Metal was the least transformed of the House Robots, undergoing only three major revamps - between Series 1 and Series 2, between Series 2 and Series 3, and between Series 7 and Series 8. In all appearances it retained key elements - the horizontal pincers, circular saw and steel exoskeleton, consisting of jagged armour plates and spiked struts as wheel guards.

"Our own version of a scorpion!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Dead Metal under construction

In Series 1 and 2, Dead Metal was originally going to be painted pink to match its lobster-like appearance, but was left grey to give it a more 'menacing' look. Its circular saw was attached to a tail-like arm that would move forward from the robot's back. During Series 1, the steel exoskeleton was simply designed, and as a result, its internal workings were visible and mostly unprotected. The saw blade was powered by a petrol strimmer motor, which was unreliable and caused little damage. The arm rotated at its pivot 180 degrees, but moved very slowly.

Dead Metal in Series 2

For Series 2, Dead Metal underwent a major overhaul that saw its capabilities improve tenfold. The petrol motor was replaced by an electric motor, and the saw was changed from a grinding blade to a diamond edged cutting disc. The steel exoskeleton was also completely changed to accommodate the new saw mechanism, giving Dead Metal a much more complex and well-protected appearance. The new cutting disc was more powerful and created sparks whenever Dead Metal attempted to slice through other robots, but still did not give the production team the destructive power they wanted. The arm was also modified- it was now driven by a pneumatic ram and only moved up and down on a 80 degree pivot, which visibly increased its potency and reliability, being less complicated, and able to come down on trapped competitors much more quickly.

Dead Metal in Series 6

In Series 3, Dead Metal underwent further improvements, and gained the appearance and destructive power it would retain for the remainder of the show's original run. The saw/pneumatic arm configuration was replaced with a Stihl 3000rpm cut-off saw (similar to the type used to cut steel and concrete on building sites) mounted inside the front and protected from damage by a triangular face-like exoskeleton.

Dead Metal creating another shower of sparks

The triangular exoskeleton would become one of Dead Metal's most famous accessories. The mechanism would be moved forward via linear actuators to attack. As part of its design, the saw had to be moved forward slowly, otherwise the mechanism would jam. The overall impression was of a head moving forward to bite down on an opponent with the circular saw. This new system proved to be far more powerful than the original grinding disc/arm configuration, capable of slicing deep into competitors, and producing spectacular sparks, particularly against metals like titanium (for example, Wheely Big Cheese's wheels). After Series 3, the saw began to lose effectiveness again, both as competitor robots' armour was upgraded over time and as a result of Dead Metal's aging. It retained its ability to produce massive sparks, however.

Rear view of Dead Metal at the time of Extreme 2

Dead Metal in the arena in Series 7

The original air-driven rams used to power the pincers were replaced by a new hydraulic system that ran on Carbon dioxide- the new system proved more durable and powerful than the original air rams. The armour and exoskeleton would remain the same throughout the rest of Robot Wars, with only few minor modifications to improve protection and durability.

Dead Metal also later gained the ability to adjust the height of the front of his chassis, the idea being that this would allow the pincers to grab robots of different heights, and was often demonstrated in its arena introductions.

"It's like watching a surgeon at work only with less blood, more sparks and absolutely no medical qualifications! Ooh, that looks sore!"

— Jonathan Pearce introducing Dead Metal in Meet the House Robots

Dead Metal inside the CPZ

• The width of Dead Metal's claws in the reboot
• The reboot Dead Metal under construction
• Dead Metal warms up for Series 8
• Dead Metal in the arena in Series 9
• Dead Metal's Series 8 stat card, posted on the Robot Wars social media pages

1/5

In 2016, Dead Metal appeared in the BBC's second teaser trailer for Series 8. Dead Metal was rebuilt by Robo Challenge to feature larger claws which open 1.4 metres wide. Dead Metal gained a higher top speed, LEDs, and a weight increase of over 200kg, now weighing in at 343kg. Overall, the new Dead Metal retained almost all of the elements of the Series 3-7 version. The circular saw now runs at 4000rpm, with a larger 450mm magnesium saw blade, and also was built with an improved and stronger mechanism to shove the weapon forward. For the first time since Series 3, Dead Metal was again able to deal huge amounts of damage and slice through competing robots again. In official media, such as Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot this new version of Dead Metal is referred to as female.

Robot History

Series 1

Dead Metal was the fourth and final House Robot to be introduced into the first series, driven by Colin Tilley. However, memorable moments involving him were few and far between, due to the lack of power in his weaponry.

Dead Metal grips Nemesis

Dead Metal's pincers claw through the head of Torque of the Devil

Due to the weakness of the saw, Dead Metal often relied on his pincers, as well as his speed and ramming ability. This proved to be especially effective in Heat D, when the featherweight Bugs was battered by Dead Metal when it got stuck on a grille; in Heat E, when the pincers cut through the plaster on Torque of the Devil's head; and in Heat F, when Dead Metal teamed up with Sergeant Bash and Matilda to push The Blob back in its Gauntlet run. However, this tactic still did not always work, as Robot the Bruce was easily able to push him aside in its Gauntlet run in Heat C, as was Skarab in Heat F. Dead Metal was also adapted to be used in the Football Trial in Heat C and acted as the goalkeeper. Instead of a circular saw, the arm had a large ball on the end, used to hit the ball away from the goal. One of his few instances of major damage to a robot occurred in this Trial, when he slammed WYSIWYG against the goalpost, causing it to break down (although, since WYSIWYG was a stock robot and not permitted to pass the trial, it is not clear whether or not it truly broke down). This version was also seen in many of the later Arena battles.

A serious accident occurred on the second day of shooting when Dead Metal's saw blade flew off and embedded itself into the wall behind where Jeremy Clarkson was standing. As a result, Dead Metal's saw blade was replaced with the ball for the rest of the First War.

Series 2

Dead Metal is dragged to defeat by Chaos

With the upgrade, Dead Metal began seeing great success in stopping opponents in the Gauntlet, using a combination of speed, pushing power and trapping ability to prevent robots including Sting, Onslaught, Killerhurtz, Panic Attack and Loco from completing it (although Killerhurtz knocked part of Dead Metal's armour off in the process). One of Dead Metal's signature moves was grabbing the competitor with its pincers and pushing it towards the pit, while cutting them with his saw. Notably, it continued to cut into the top of Wizard's protruding hat even after it had been pitted, prompting boos from the audience.

Dead Metal serving as goalkeeper

Dead Metal temporarily replaced Shunt for the Sumo Trial event in Heat L. Dead Metal defeated four out of five opponents, and only losing to Vercingetorix because after time ran out. He did fall out of the ring once, against Haardvark, but Haardvark was already beaten at that time.

Despite this success, Dead Metal still faced several failures. He was completely outmatched by Chaos during the Tug of War event, and was easily dragged into the pit. Dead Metal was also pushed into the pit by Talos during its Gauntlet run. During the King of the Castle Trial run, Plunderbird 2 pushed it off the platform with Sergeant Bash. Also during the King of the Castle, Dead Metal managed to catch Mega Hurts with his pincers and forced it over the edge backwards, but as this happened Mega Hurts flipped over, and Dead Metal fell over the edge with it, crushing Mega Hurts' computer monitor with its weight.

Series 3

Shunt, Matilda, Sgt Bash and Dead Metal at the beginning of Heat A of Series 3

Dead Metal slices into Aggrobot

Dead Metal cuts Bumblebot's axe in half

Dead Metal damages Onslaught

Dead Metal's saw blade and saw blade mount were completely redesigned for the Third Wars, a new blade was fitted on a much larger mount with increased power. This arrangement would go on to be used on Dead Metal for the remainder of Robot Wars. The new saw enabled Dead Metal to make much more significant damage to competitors, such as Hammertron, Aggrobot, Razer and Onslaught. It also cut Bumblebot's axe clean in half, and dealt Chaos 2 serious damage in The First World Championship, enough for Chaos 2 to reverse into the pit to escape.

Dead Metal erroneously reverses into the pit

However, Dead Metal continued a string of bad driving, reversing straight into the pit during the fight between Inverterbrat and Terrorpin.

Dead Metal fails to stop Gnasher from scoring

Dead Metal was also assigned Goalkeeper for the Robotic Soccer competition, but was ineffective, being too slow to prevent Velocirippa or The General from scoring, and whilst blocking Gnasher's first attempt, it made no attempt to block the follow-up. In the bout between Alien and Evil Weevil, it left the goals to re-right Alien, but Matilda was able to prevent Evil Weevil from scoring. Dead Metal was replaced by Sergeant Bash in the final.

Series 4

"When the sparks fly, robots usually die."

— Jonathan Pearce

Dead Metal in Series 4

Dead Metal returned for the Fourth Wars relatively unchanged, but the power of its weaponry was increased in addition to it having a stronger exoskeleton. This was the last major change that happened to Dead Metal.

Dead Metal grabs 101

Dead Metal played a passive role in Series 4, tending only to attack when robots reached his CPZ or after they had been defeated. He immobilised Cronos after Steg 2 and Crusader 2 pushed it into the CPZ in Heat D, and dealt damaged to 101 when Dominator 2 did the same in Heat E. Dead Metal also caught and dealt damage to Humphrey and Reactor, amongst others. He did, however, free 101 and Spikasaurus when they became stuck during bouts in the arena, and even served as a type of bouncer, separating team mates 101 and King B3 when they turned on each other.

Dead Metal and Sgt Bash attack Humphrey

Terror-Bull lifts Dead Metal. Note the out of place plates near Dead Metal's saw

Dead Metal was not immune to some damage, however. In Heat P, an immobile Terror-Bull made a rare and difficult attack on Dead Metal, and managed to lift it off the ground and bend part of Dead Metal's triangular saw guard "face" out of place. However, Dead Metal was not impeded from pitting Terror Bull shortly after. In the Northern Annihilator final, Dead Metal broke one of his pincers whilst freeing Spikasaurus once again.

Extreme 1

Dead Metal was involved in a spectacular moment in one of the Mayhem battles of Robot Wars Extreme Series 1 between Hypno-Disc, Wheely Big Cheese and Ming 3. After Hypno-Disc had immobilised both its opponents, Dead Metal went in to attack the damaged Wheely Big Cheese slicing into one of its wheels a few times. Due to the wheels being covered in titanium-tipped spikes, this attack caused loads of big and bright sparks to fly around the arena.

Dead Metal slices Wheely Big Cheese's wheel

Dead Metal launches a second unprovoked attack on Behemoth

A notable incident involving Dead Metal in Extreme Series 1 occurred in Behemoth's first-round battle of the All-Stars competition, where it faced Hypno-Disc. Behemoth pushed Hypno-Disc into the CPZ, so Hypno-Disc should have been attacked by a House Robot. However, Dead Metal came into the CPZ and attacked Behemoth instead. Refbot pushed it away and issued it with a yellow card. The battle continued, and Behemoth pushed Hypno-Disc into another CPZ. Dead Metal came out again, but proceeded to attack Behemoth again. Behemoth escaped and Refbot issued Dead Metal with a red card, meaning it was unable to leave its CPZ for the rest of the battle. This made Dead Metal the first House Robot to be issued with a red card.

Dead Metal also fought in the House Robot Rebellion with Shunt and later Matilda, where it faced Stinger, Scorpion and Plunderbird 5. It started by attempting to attack Stinger, but Stinger escaped, and Plunderbird 5 attacked Dead Metal, prompting it to attack Plunderbird 5 with its saw. After Plunderbird was thrown by the Floor Flipper, Dead Metal was attacked by Scorpion and Stinger. Shortly after this, Dead Metal caught Stinger with its claws and began cutting into its wheels. Stinger escaped and hit Dead Metal with its mace and drove away before cease was called. As it was the only challenger still moving, Stinger was announced as the victor.

Dead Metal cuts into Stinger's hubcap.

Dead Metal pits Anvil illegally

Dead Metal twice forced judges' decisions in fights involving the Royal Air Force and their robot Anvil. In the Armed Forces Melee, Anvil pitted both Mega-Hurts and Rhino, but Dead Metal pushed from behind resulting in Anvil falling in with the other two. More controversially, Dead Metal seized the dominant Anvil in the final of the Forces Special and spun around. Anvil flew out of the grips of Dead Metal and fell into the pit. Craig Charles quickly pointed out that the move was illegal and the judges awarded the fight to Anvil based on the fight up to that point.

Series 5

Dead Metal slices into Hippobotomus

Dead Metal had the least appearances out of the House Robots in The Fifth Wars meaning that notable moments were few and far between. He also had to wait until Heat B until his first appearance in the competition, which meant that he was the only House Robot not to appear in the first heat of the series. He was also absent from Heat F and the Grand Final.

Dead Metal's first notable moment came in Heat C as he inflicted damage to Hippobotomus by slicing into its shell multiple times. He also caused the top of Hippobotomus to come loose in the process.

Twister is caught by Dead Metal

Dead Metal lays into the immobile Twister

The House Robot also had his way with Twister after it was immobilised in its battle against Clawed Hopper in Heat L, as he sliced into Team Berserk's machine and then cooked it on the flame pit.

Dead Metal punishes the beaten Wheely Big Cheese

Dead Metal was a consistent presence during the Semi-Final second round battle battle between Razer and S3, with Razer involving the House Robot throughout the battle to help pressure and cause damage to S3. Dead Metal then sent sparks flying from Wheely Big Cheese's titanium wheels after it was defeated in its Semi-Final first round battle against Dominator 2.

"Wheely Big Cheese has gone out! Grated, shredded, and in comes the circular saw, there, of Dead Metal. Heat generated, sparks flew - you are Welsh rarebit!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Dead Metal attacks Wheely Big Cheese

Dead Metal goes into the pit with Gemini

Dead Metal pits Fluffy

Dead Metal is flipped up by Wheely Big Cheese

However, Dead Metal also had his struggles in The Fifth Wars, as he got himself into trouble on multiple occasions while pitting immobile robots. In the battle between Firestorm 3 and Sir Chromalot in Heat D, the House Robot attempted to finish off Sir Chromalot but managed to suspend himself on the lip of the pit which meant that Sgt. Bash had to come in to finish off the job. He went one step further in the next battle in the same heat between Reactor 2 and Gemini, when he overshot his drive while pitting one of the Gemini twins and ended up going into the pit as well. There was one more occurrence of Dead Metal's erroneous driving when disposing of a beaten robot, as he followed through when pitting Fluffy in the Heat L final, which left him beached over the arena hazard for a third time in the series. Wheely Big Cheese also lifted Dead Metal from the arena floor in the Heat H Final, the closest the House Robot had come to being flipped.

Series 6

Dead Metal waits to attack Inshredable

Dead Metal slices into Revolution 2

Dead Metal made his mark in the first round melees of Heat G, causing significant damage to Inshredable's chassis before slicing through Revolution 2's spinning blades, sending copious amounts of sparks flying on both occasions. The damage he and Matilda inflicted on Inshredable was sufficient to prevent it from being properly repaired in time for its Round 2 clash with Anarchy.

Dead Metal cuts into 13 Black

The House Robot then made an impression on the overturned 13 Black in its Losers' Melee battle against Wild Thing 2 and Dantomkia, as he cut through one of its support brackets and sent sparks flying.

Dead Metal brings its weapon down onto Razer

Dead Metal was involved in the final two battles of the UK Championship, as he first helped Shunt pit Terrorhurtz after it became immobilised against Firestorm 4 in the Playoff, before bringing its circular saw down onto Razer in its Grand Final battle against Tornado when the two-time world champion ventured into the CPZ.

The immobile Dynamite is carved by Dead Metal

Dead Metal appeared in the UK vs Germany Special at the end of the series as well, an episode in which he inflicted damage to Dynamite and Ansgar's Revenge. He also pitted 259 after it was beaten by Fluffy.

Dead Metal drives himself into the pit with Sir Chromalot

Dead Metal and Sir Chromalot in the pit

The House Robot also carried out arena hazard duties on Chompalot in Heat F and Sir Chromalot in Heat D, although, in the latter incident, the House Robot repeated his driving errors from The Fifth Wars, as he miscalculated his pitting of Sir Chromalot and went into the pit with it.

Extreme 2

Dead Metal attacks Razer on top of Firestorm 4

Dead Metal made his mark in the All-Stars Grand Final between Razer and Firestorm 4 where after a tussle to begin with, the former had found itself in the CPZ with Dead Metal where he proceeded to bring his circular saw down on top of Razer's body. He was also involved in a lot of moments in the Tag Team Terror. The first battle of Round 1 where he chased Sumpthing around the arena and also slicing into X-Terminator's axe mechanism. In the first of the semi-final battles, he made a persistent presence in the battle slicing into X-Terminator's scoop, the top of Barbaric Response and also slicing into Mini Morg when it had been immobilised. Finally, he and Growler pitted Mini Morg before the battle ended. In the Middleweight Championship, Dead Metal managed to catch up with Mammoth and slice into it.

Sparks are sent flying as Dead Metal attacks X-Terminator

X-Terminator pushes Barbaric Response into Dead Metal

Dead Metal helps Growler to finish off Mini Morg by pitting it

Dead Metal catches up with Mammoth and slices it

Dead Metal's blade falls off

During the Minor Meltdown battle between Bigger Brother and Rick, Dead Metal's saw blade fell off. It proceeded to fly across the arena floor, before colliding with the side wall and falling into a gap between the arena and the side wall.

Dead Metal is flipped by Firestorm 4 as Sgt Bash crumples its rear

Dead Metal was also attacked during the Commonwealth Carnage final between Firestorm 4 and Crushtacean after the former had propped the latter up against the wall. As Refbot counted the South African robot out, Firestorm chased after Dead Metal and started trying to flip it, only for Dead Metal to get stuck on an angle grinder, pinning both robots and stopping either move. Sergeant Bash then proceeded to crush into Firestorm in retaliation for that attack and for flipping both him and Mr. Psycho in the previous battle.

Series 7

Dead Metal cuts into Jackson Wallop

One of Dead Metal's main highlights in the Seventh Wars came in Heat B, in the battle between Big Nipper and Jackson Wallop. With Jackson Wallop immobile, Dead Metal had the freedom to push it all around the arena, slicing through the artistic paintwork on top of Jackson Wallop's weapon, creating many sparks, eventually pitting the machine.

"Look what they've done to my paintwork!"

— Bernie Ryder, Team Battlebot

Dead Metal watches Shunt get thrown over by Gravity

Gravity topples Dead Metal

The Seventh Wars marked the first time in the show's history when Dead Metal was flipped. In the Heat Final of Heat D, Gravity faced Lightning and defeated it relatively easily. After Lightning was counted out, the Gravity team decided to attack the House Robots. It threw both Shunt and Dead Metal over, leaving itself and Refbot as the only machines still moving. Refbot gave Gravity the red card, but at this point Lightning was already immobilised, so Gravity still went through.

During the second melee of Heat H, St. Agro attempted to flip Dead Metal but did not succeed.

St. Agro flips Dead Metal

Growler tries to intervene as Dantomkia lifts Dead Metal

During the semi-finals of the All-Stars, during the battle between Dantomkia and Panic Attack, after Dantomkia flipped Panic Attack out of the arena, it attacked not only Dead Metal, but also Growler, both of whom broke down.

Series 8

Dead Metal takes on Merlin

Dead Metal was the third House robot confirmed to appear in Series 8, but was the second to be featured in a teaser trailer. Dead Metal was completely rebuilt, heavier, and with substantially improved modern-day technology. In the pilot, Dead Metal spent a long time battling Merlin after it had won its head-to-head against Ka-Pow!, even managing to capture it at one point.

Dead Metal cuts into Terrorhurtz's underbelly

Dead Metal slices into Foxic

In the opening Heat of the reboot, Dead Metal used its saw to cut through the base of Terrorhurtz. This attacked severed the axebot's gas pipe. In Heat 2, during its bout with Shockwave, Foxic managed to push Dead Metal along almost the entire length of the arena, eventually stopping due to Shockwave lifting Foxic into its pincers. Dead Metal would later get revenge, after it managed to saw through Foxic's front lifter during their loss to Thor, after spending a long time dueling with Foxic during its battle with M.R. Speed Squared.

In Heat 3, Dead Metal was attacked briefly by Dantomkia after King B Remix was disposed of, although Dantomkia was unable to flip the House Robot. In the next head-to-head match between Big Nipper and TR2, Dead Metal managed to cause significant damage to Big Nipper, almost severing the safety link.

Dead Metal is flipped by Apollo

In Heat 4, Dead Metal was attacked by Apollo and successfully flipped, the first House Robot of Series 8 to suffer this fate. Matilda left her CPZ and entered Dead Metal's, but was unable to right him and was ultimately flipped over as well.

Dead Metal immobilises Crazy Coupe 88

In Heat 5, Dead Metal single-handedly immobilised Crazy Coupe 88, when it drove into the CPZ of its own accord. Dead Metal slammed it into the arena wall and used its circular saw, defeating the competitor. Later in the episode, Dead Metal sustained major damage from Gabriel, which was trying to stop Dead Metal from attacking a smoking Chompalot.

Battle of the Stars

Dead Metal attempts to grasp Robo Savage

Dead Metal appeared in Episode 2 of Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars, which was filmed and broadcast as part of the ongoing ninth series. In the Head-to-Head battle between Dee and Soldier Ant, he attempted to grab Dee as it became caught in between the arena spikes, although Dee managed to escape. Later on, he also helped steer Robo Savage onto the spikes and briefly caught its wedge during its battle against Dee, although Robo Savage eventually escaped without sustaining any significant damage.

Series 9

Dead Metal appeared in a teaser trailer for Series 9, uploaded on 10th February 2017. The teaser showed him and the other House Robots destroying household appliances, with Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" playing in the background.

"He's not grumpy, he's a bit spiky - it's Dead Metal!"

— Jonathan Pearce introduces Dead Metal as he makes its first appearance of the series

Dead Metal appeared in two Head-to-Head battles during the first heat of Series 9. He was unable to get involved in either battle, and was not selected to be the House Robot to attack when Rogue House Robot mode was activated for the first time during the battle between Terrorhurtz and Sabretooth.

Dead Metal saws into the back of Behemoth

Dead Metal was busy during Heat 2, as he appeared in every Head-to-Head battle as well as the Heat Final, and was called into Rogue House Robot duty twice. He also caused damage to both Cherub and Behemoth in the remaining seconds of their Head-to-Head battle.

A Rogue Dead Metal attacks Concussion

In Heat 3 Dead Metal was triggered into the Rogue House Robot mode again and sliced into the top of Concussion during its Head-to-Head battle against Thor. During the same battle, Dead Metal's presence was needed again to help separate Matilda and Concussion after the two became stuck together. He also brought its saw down onto M.R. Speed Squared on more than one occasion while it faced off against Concussion.

Dead Metal attacks Wyrm

Dead Metal had a quiet Heat 4, only appearing in the Head-to-Head between Wyrm and Pulsar - a battle in which he attacked Wyrm and placed it over the Flame Pit.

Dead Metal goes Rogue on Ms Nightshade

Heat 5 saw Dead Metal drag Ms Nightshade around the arena in the first Group Battle after Rogue House Robot mode was activated. He also enjoyed a tussle with Crackers during Crackers 'n' Smash's Head-to-Head against Coyote, as he sliced into the half of the clusterbot after Coyote moved it into its pincers, before placing it onto the Flame Pit after being sent Rogue again. Dead Metal's final appearance of the episode came in the final Head-to-Head battle between Crackers 'n' Smash and Apollo, and he made its mark on Crackers once more by sawing into it after it was overturned. He also sent sparks flying from Crackers after Apollo hurled it onto the House Robot's saw.

Dead Metal sustains damage from Aftershock

Despite only appearing in one battle in the Grand Final, Dead Metal still saw himself involved in the thick of the action, as he grabbed hold of Aftershock during its Head-to-Head battle against Eruption, which then damaged the House Robot's right pincer with its spinning disc in response.

Series 10

Dead Metal is called into Rogue House Robot mode on Sabretooth

Dead Metal sends sparks flying from Behemoth's scoop

Dead Metal appeared five times during the opening heat of Series 10, with its opening battle coinciding with the first instance of the new arena hazard, Fog of War. Dead Metal also caused damage to The Swarm minibots Blenda - on two occasions - Pinza, and Rubber Duck over the course of the episode, was called into Rogue House Robot mode in the battle between Apollo and Sabretooth, and sent sparks flying from Behemoth's titanium scoop during its Heat Final victory over Apollo.

After not appearing at all in Heat 2, Dead Metal featured in four battles in Heat 3, sending sparks from both Vulture and Bucky the Robot during their Robot Redemption Round fight, as well as causing trouble for both the victorious Rapid, and Terrorhurtz in the Heat Final.

Dead Metal slices into Iron-Awe 6

Dead Metal made four appearances in Heat 4. Most notably, it sliced through the top armour of Tauron, showered sparks while cutting into the defeated Iron-Awe 6, and briefly trapped Nuts 2 during its battle with Androne 4000.

Dead Metal is attacked by Thor and Coyote

Dead Metal had a very active role in the opening fight of Heat 5. After using its saw on all three robots at some point, as well as being called into Rogue House Robot mode on two occasions, Dead Metal later found himself picked on in the same fight, with Coyote and Thor taking revenge on the House Robot due to Dead Metal's attack on the disabled minibot Detention. Dead Metal came to blows with Thor once again during the Heat Semi-Final involving the same two machines - sawing into Jason Marston's machine after it ventured into the CPZ, before dropping Expulsion into the pit after Magnetar immobilised it with an explosive slam.

Dead Metal wraps its claws around Behemoth

Despite not starting as an active House Robot during the 10 Robot Rumble, Dead Metal still made its way into the arena during the fight, with the arena entry gate lowered as Sir Killalot held Terrorhurtz by its axe shaft. Dead Metal was also called into Rogue House Robot action during the second Group Battle, and the Semi-Final fight between Behemoth and Eruption. The second of the two fights also saw Dead Metal send sparks from Behemoth on more than one occasion after use of the circular saw.

Dead Metal is overturned by Apollo for the second time

Dead Metal then appeared in the World Series, and experienced a busy Episode 1 - appearing four times. Dead Metal's most notable moments in the episode came through being attacked by a competing machine, however, as it was flipped by Apollo during the opening fight, before the same robot tried to replicate this during the captains' fight at the end of the episode.

Sparks fly as Big Nipper goes charging into Dead Metal

Dead Metal continues to tussle with the UK pair

Episode 2 opened up in similar vain to the first World Series episode for Dead Metal, as it was attacked by competing machines once again - this time in the form of Eruption and Big Nipper. Dead Metal was still able to cause damage to THE BASH in the same fight though after it was tossed into the air by Eruption. Dead Metal then attacked both competing machines during the fight between Concussion and Weber, as it used its saw on Concussion's spinning drum, before attacking Weber after being called into Rogue House Robot mode. At the end of the fight, Dead Metal then pushed the tyre that Weber lost to Sir Killalot into the Pit of Oblivion. This battle marked Dead Metal's final appearance on Robot Wars.

Other

Dead Metal has appeared in all international versions of the show. It was one of the house robots along with Shunt and Sir Killalot featured in the House Robot Rebellion of the second season of the US series Extreme Warriors where it used its saw to cut into Snake Bite but broke down halfway through the match. Regardless, the house robots came out the victors.

In Nickelodeon Robot Wars, it, along with Shunt and Sir Killalot, was able to dispatch Squirmin Vermin and Humdrum to win the House Robot Rebellion. Dead Metal was able to cause huge damage to both robots with its weaponry, slicing right into Humdrum's chassis at least twice.

Dead Metal pulls a tyre from Enderbot

As a House Robot hazard, Dead Metal also prominently featured in the international series. One of its more notable moments came in Heat D of Dutch Robot Wars: Series 1, in the Heat Final between Slicer and Enderbot. During the battle, Dead Metal pulled away one of Enderbot's tyres using its claws, to immobilise the machine, later cutting into the remaining tyre with its saw to release gas.

Appearances in Merchandise

• The Dead Metal pullback
• The Dead Metal Minibot
• Dead Metal Construction Set
• Dead Metal in Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem
• Dead Metal in Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction
• Dead Metal in Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction
• Dead Metal in Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)
• Dead Metal in Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)

1/8

• Dead Metal/Pullback
• Dead Metal/Minibot
• Dead Metal/Construction Set
• Dead Metal/Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem
• Dead Metal/Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction
• Dead Metal/Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction
• Dead Metal/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)
• Dead Metal/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)

Outside Robot Wars

Dead Metal lines up alongside the other House Robots during The One Show in July 2016

On July 21st, 2016, Dead Metal and the rest of the Series 8 house robots appeared on BBC's The One Show, to promote the new series of Robot Wars. They battled three remote controlled cars piloted by the cast of The Rebel. Sir Killalot flattened all three cars, and won the battle for the House Robots.

During the filming of TomSka's YouTube comedy short, The Robot Wars/Robot Wars, Dead Metal, along with fellow House Robots Matilda and Shunt, were visited by TomSka, Eddie Bowley and Elliot Gough in a warehouse with various Robo Challenge logos present. Dead Metal was stated by TomSka as "being something you wouldn't want to fight that in real life", although he was inactive and had stage lights fitted in between its pincers.

The House Robots confront the Cybermen in the What If Robots Replaced Teachers? promo

Along with Sir Killalot and Matilda, Dead Metal also appears in the BBC Make It Digital promo What If Robots Replaced Teachers? as one of several robots running a high school in place of human staff. He and Matilda are seen accompanying Sir Killalot as he 'expels' a pair of disruptive Cybermen, and are credited onscreen as 'Senior Prefects'.

• Dead Metal without claws during construction
• DeadCam (Series 1-4)
• A cartoon Dead Metal attacking Spawn of Scutter on a Poster from Issue 17 from the Robot Wars Magazine
• On a Poster from Issue 19 of the Robot Wars Magazine
• Razer and Dead Metal in a promo shoot in Robot Wars: The Official Magazine,Issue 5
• Dead Metal official photo for Series 4
• Both versions of Dead Metal stored in the warehouse
• Dead Metal replica model used for displays

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Trivia

• Dead Metal was one of the fastest House Robots, one mile slower than Cassius Chrome, and his metre-wide body made him very difficult to flip over. Only Gravity and Apollo ever achieved this; Cassius came close in its Series 2 Heat Final, but did not succeed.
• As of Series 7, Dead Metal has fallen into the pit more times than any other House Robot.
• Dead Metal is the only House Robot which has been referred to as both a 'he' and a 'she'. The robot was considered male throughout its appearances in the original run and Series 8-9. Publications coinciding with Series 10 (e.g. Robot Wars: The Official Handbook) began referring to it as a female - however, the handbook mentions that the House Robots from the rebooted series are the "Descendants" of the originals, suggesting this Dead Metal is a separate female character.
  • This matter is further complicated in Robot Wars: World Series, where Jonathan Pearce referred to the rebooted series Dead Metal as a male once again in the first Tag Team battle of the first episode.
• Originally Dead Metal was suppose to have appeared in Redemption battle between Hobgoblin and Coyote, however, for unknown reasons, it went berserk and crashed into the Dial of Doom, ultimately forcing Shunt to pin the machine down and be replaced with Sir Killalot.
• Out of all the House Robots built for Robot Wars, Dead Metal was one of only three that have appeared in all series of the classic era and the reboot. The other two were Shunt and Matilda.
• Dead Metal was one of two House Robots to never be partnered with Cassius Chrome, the other being Matilda.
• Dead Metal was absent from twenty-one episodes.