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Snookums was a heavyweight robot which entered three competitions during the second season of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors.

It lost in the first round of the US Championship to Propeller-Head and Psycho Chicken, and teamed up with Bang in the Tag Team Terror, only to lose to G-Force and Sir Force A Lot. However, in the Robot Rebellion, Snookums earned back-to-back wins against Medusa Oblongotta and Ninjitsu before being defeated by the House Robots.

Design[]

Snookums

Snookums in the arena

Designed to look like a swordfish, Snookums was built from a propane tank and was armed with a pneumatic 600psi lifting sword as its weapon, which supposedly reached 3 inches forward when firing. However, the force of the weapon was so strong that it broke itself whenever it fired, which often forced Snookums to fight without it working throughout most of its battles. Despite this setback, the propane tank body was strong enough to withstand attacks from Propeller-Head and the House Robots throughout its appearances. Snookums' rear tail was entirely sacrificial, housing no electric components, and was made from fabric attached via Velcro, with a metal frame inside and a castor wheel at the back. This fabric was designed to entangle spinning weapons, which it was successful at doing on multiple occasions.

Snookums rebuild

The process of rebuilding Snookums before its side events

Snookums was rebuilt in The Pits after its main series appearance, losing weight in the process before using the rebuilt machine to collect its first combat wins. In some of these later appearances, Snookums also brandished two static spears on each side of its front face, to cause ramming damage.

The Team[]

Snookums pits

Snookums with part of its team

Snookums was entered into Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors by Team Tsunami, nowadays known as Team Blaze. The team represented two states, with different team members living in California and Nevada. The team captain Ed Robinson was the driver of Snookums, and was a sword swallower and fire-breather by trade. He was joined by teammates John Hoffman and Curtis Fiegel. The team dressed up as pirates in all of their appearances, carrying props and a toy parrot mascot called Cracker in their appearances, with Ed Robinson also impersonating a typical pirate accent in most of his interviews.

Robot History[]

Season 2[]

Snookums competed in Heat D of the US Championship, where it was drawn up against TeamBoltz's new robot Psycho Chicken and the dangerous horizontal spinner of newcomer, Propeller-Head in the first round. Snookums intended to target Propeller-Head from the outset and quickly flip it over.

"We're gonna make them walk the plank, har har!"
— Ed Robinson
Snookums vs Propeller-Head

Snookums immediately drives under Propeller-Head (top)

Propeller-Head vs Snookums

Snookums is hit by Propeller-Head

When the battle began, Snookums traversed the entire length of the arena to ram into Propeller-Head and briefly stopped the spinning weapon, at the cost of some sacrificial armor. In this moment, Snookums had also driven underneath Propeller-Head, but could not fire its flipper and secure a KO. Snookums then briefly circled around the flame pit whilst Propeller-Head tore apart the minibot of the burning Psycho Chicken, Scramble, but Snookums soon retaliated with another charge into Propeller-Head to push it back. Snookums' weapon had become raised, and was struck directly by Propeller-Head, while Psycho Chicken blocked its escape.

"The big fight here is between Propeller-Head and Snookums, Propeller-Head is just taking the nose off of Snookums!"
— Stefan Frank
Snookums vs Psycho Chicken

Snookums vents gas attempting to lift Psycho Chicken

Snookums counted out

Snookums is counted out

This allowed Propeller-Head to land a decisive blow on Snookums, disabling its drive on one side, leaving Snookums only capable of turning in circles. Snookums still used its limited mobility to turn into Psycho Chicken, and attempted to flip it, but only vented gas without raising its weapon. Snookums was then broadsided by Propeller-Head, which ripped open its sacrificial tail, and with a follow-up hit, tore the wrapping away from the tail entirely. Psycho Chicken spun up its rotary blades directly in front of Snookums, but was pushed away by Sir Killalot, who picked up Psycho Chicken and carried it over the top of Snookums and across the arena, which inadvertently dragged Snookums along for the ride. Snookums was still turning on one wheel when Refbot closed in, but finally stopped moving altogether once the countdown began. Refbot counted Snookums out, and Ed Robinson took off his pirate hat while Sir Killalot backed Snookums into the pit. As a result, Snookums fell in the first round of its heat.

"Poor Ed Robinson, the driver who's a sword swallower by day, better not give up your day job, Ed!"
— Stefan Frank

Team Tsunami later revealed that they had an opportunity to flip Propeller-Head, but this could not be achieved because Snookums' weapon was not working.

"Propeller-Head's a strong bot with a super weapon, we were gonna go straight into them and flip 'em over like a pancake. Unfortunately, the weapon did not fire. Got straight in, right under him..."
— Ed Robinson

In the Tag Team Terror, Snookums competed alongside TeamBoltz and the loanerbot they were driving, Bang. Together, they faced G-Force and Sir Force A Lot in the first round.

Snookums vs G-Force

Snookums pushes G-Force back

Snookums & Bang

Snookums and Bang in the pit

Snookums started the battle in the arena against G-Force, and both robots were hesitant in approaching each other, but Snookums eventually turned its sword onto the wedge of G-Force, and suffered a light hit from one of G-Force's axes. Snookums was able to push G-Force back towards its teammate, and swung its rear tail into G-Force, before substituting itself for Bang. However, Bang was unsuccessful, quickly being immobilized by Sir Force A Lot, forcing Snookums to return to the action. Snookums was slammed by Sir Force A Lot, and was surrounded by the House Robots who were trying to attack Bang. This caused Snookums to edge closer to a CPZ, and was axed by Shunt. Snookums was moving very slowly after this, receiving a backward ram from G-Force, and it was eventually picked up by Sir Killalot who flung Snookums over. Left with no way to self-right or drive upside-down, Snookums was moved towards the pit by G-Force, and Sir Force A Lot first pitted Bang, and then pushed Snookums in soon afterwards. As a result, Snookums and Bang fell in the first round of the Tag Team Terror.

Mick Foley: "Now Snookums, the question on everybody's mind! What exactly does your robot do, because I didn't see too much out there!"
Ed Robinson: "It appears that it does absolutely nothing!"
— Mick Foley on the lack of weapon usage from Snookums

Snookums also participated in the Robot Rebellion, for the opportunity to battle the House Robots. To get there, Snookums needed to qualify through two head-to-head fights against competitor robots, and in the first, it faced Medusa Oblongotta.

Carol Grow: "They're not really too scared of a team named Snookums!"
Ed Robinson: "Well we're gonna petrify that pretty paint job on that bot, I want a piece of Sir Killalot! He likes to pick up little bitty robots and throw 'em around the ring and slam 'em into the pit, and that's just not fair! We're gonna broadside 'em, yarrr!"
— Ed Robinson ignores Medusa Oblongotta and prepares for Sir Killalot
Snookums vs Medusa Oblongotta

Snookums' tail entangles the blade of Medusa Oblongotta

Snookums vs MedusaOblongotta

Snookums drives under the side of Medusa Oblongotta

Snookums quickly approached Medusa Oblongotta but missed with its first flip, instead pressing its flipping sword onto the top of its opponent to briefly hold Snookums off the floor. While turning away from this situation, Medusa Oblongotta moved its spinning blade into the sacrificial tail of Snookums, and this instantly snagged the spinner, rendering it inoperable after absorbing the fabric into its own weapon system. With Snookums successful in entangling its opponent, it capitalized on the weaponless foe by wedging under the high ground clearance of Medusa Oblongotta to shove it backwards, stopping over the Disc of Doom. Snookums then broadsided Medusa Oblongotta and drove straight under it, spending an extended period of the match pushing Medusa Oblongotta across the arena, albeit without using its weapon to lift it. Snookums released Medusa Oblongotta, but still continued to push it sideways with the front of its lifting sword, and the two then met head-on, with Medusa Oblongotta regaining limited control over its spinning blade, although the sacrificial tail of Snookums was still present in the weapon system to entangle the blade. Snookums sustained minor damage to its front face, but successfully pushed Medusa Oblongotta into the CPZ where Dead Metal sliced into it. Medusa Oblongotta was immobilized by this attack, and Snookums went over to press the pit trigger, as Dead Metal continued to land more attacks on its victim. Refbot counted Medusa Oblongotta out, and Matilda smashed it out of the arena with her rear flywheel, leaving Snookums as the winner.

Mick Foley: "I've got a little bit of an apology for ya there captain, I had asked you on one other occasion what Snookums did, because for the life of me, it didn't seem to be doing much, but were you attempting to get Medusa's blade caught up in your tail there, was that part of your plan?"
Ed Robinson: "That is exactly what that tail is, it's got a large piece of fabric on with Velcro, and when the Velcro gets sucked up in the blade it stops 'em dead, yar-harr, stopped 'em dead!"
— Ed Robinson on his hidden entanglement device

In the second round, Snookums faced Ninjitsu, the successor to Shuriken, with the winner advancing to the battle against the House Robots.

Ninjitsu vs Snookums

Snookums takes a direct shot to the wheel

Snookumsvsninjitsu rwews2

Snookums lifts Ninjitsu with its sword

Snookums started the battle by attempting to swing its fabric tail into the blade of Snookums, but instead sustained two direct blows to the face, followed by a clean hit to the wheel of Snookums. Surprisingly, Snookums retained full mobility and circled around the arena to charge head-first into Snookums' spinner, but received another two frontal attacks, ripping away one of Snookums' front spikes. Ninjitsu then caught its side in the fabric tail of Snookums and stretched the material, but Snookums was able to escape. In the meantime, Ninjitsu had become high-centered on the Disc of Doom, allowing Snookums to close in, but Snookums' sword got stuck under the arena hazard and Ninjitsu responded by striking Snookums again with its blade. After this, Snookums landed its first attack, driving under Ninjitsu and lifting it up, almost toppling over in the process, also attempting a second lift but largely failing to gain a purchase. After this, Ninjitsu completely ripped away the front face of Snookums, but this was enough to entangle Ninjitsu's blade, and Snookums had finally succeeded at silencing the spinner.

"...as it drags that soon-to-be-patented flyaway tail right into the workings of poor old Ninjitsu! Still got some of the fabric left on it, but something's been pulled apart, definitely!"
— Stefan Frank credits the fabric tail of Snookums
Sgt Bash bites Snookums

Sgt. Bash clamps Snookums' tail

Snookums vs Ninjitsu

Snookums drives back under Ninjitsu

Ninjitsu had started to attack using its rear wedge instead, but drove straight up Snookums' sword, and although Snookums attempted to push Ninjitsu, its wheels were left spinning without moving Snookums forward, and the two eventually separated. While Snookums pushed the weaponless Ninjitsu back, Sgt. Bash lit the back end of Snookums' tail on fire, and Snookums swerved into the CPZ to take more shots from the flamethrower. Pursuing Snookums out into the arena, Sgt. Bash then grabbed hold of Snookums' tail, mangling the metal framework inside. Snookums could only wriggle back and forth until Sgt. Bash let go, but even with its tail burning, Snookums pushed Ninjitsu into an empty CPZ, with Ninjitsu's weapon belt now visibly hanging loose. Unfortunately for Snookums, Ninjitsu escaped and Sgt. Bash attacked Snookums once again. Although Snookums was able to escape unharmed, its right wheel was visibly hobbling while Snookums pressured Ninjitsu in the center of the arena. Even with Sgt. Bash looming, Snookums still continued to push Ninjitsu back until time expired on the five-minute battle.

"Well from right in the beginning, it looked like it was gonna be a great battle, but then Ninjitsu had a little help from the House 'Bots, and poor Snookums wasn't even deserving and he didn't stay in that corner patrol zone. Let's see what the Judges have to say!"
— Stefan Frank

Despite taking clear damage, Snookums had survived to a Judges' decision, and its late control and aggression was rewarded, with the Judges ruling a split decision in favour of Snookums, narrowly putting it through to the battle with the House Robots.

"Snookums had a little bit of a problem, but we finally had to get everything dialed up, the only problem is, as you said, now we get sacrificed to the robotic gods of combat otherwise known as Sir Killalot... Yarrr!!!!"
— Ed Robinson

Snake Bite joined forces with Snake Bite which had also won two head-to-heads to reach the House Robot Rebellion, where the two competitors took on Shunt and Dead Metal. This came to the dismay of Ed Robinson, who wanted to exact his revenge on Sgt. Bash.

Carol Grow: "You have a little bit of a vendetta against one of the robots"
Ed Robinson: "In our last heat, Sgt. Bash came up and grabbed it by the tail and set it on fire, and there ain't nothing I hate worse than a flaming tail!"
— Ed Robinson sets his sights on Sgt. Bash, not knowing which House Robots that Snookums would be facing
Shunt vs Snookums

Snookums narrowly dodges the axe of Shunt

Snookums vs Shunt

Snookums spears the wheel housing of Shunt

Snookums was immediately targeted by Shunt, although the thin nature of Snookums' body allowed it to mostly dodge two axe attacks. With Dead Metal largely absent from the action, Snookums was left idle while Shunt attacked Snake Bite, but eventually managed to spear through Shunt's wheel housing when it came to Snake Bite's assistance. This finally prompted Dead Metal to close in on Snookums, and Shunt dragged Snookums into an empty CPZ by driving forwards with Snookums' sword still stuck in it. The two robots finally separated, but Snookums could pose no real threat to Shunt after this, only swerving in circles and dodging an axe blow until Sir Killalot entered the arena for the benefit of the House Robots.

"Poor Snookums has got no power against the powerful Shunt."
— Stefan Frank
Sir Killalot vs Snookums

Sir Killalot holds Snookums up

Sir Killalot attacks Snookums

Sir Killalot attacks the inverted Snookums

Shunt pushed Snookums over the flame pit, where its CO2 bottle burst. Snookums abandoned its duel with Shunt to take on Sir Killalot, ramming his exposed tracks. This proved to be regrettable, as Shunt trapped Snookums in place for Sir Killalot to grab Snookums by its wheel and hold it aloft. Sir Killalot carried Snookums across the arena, and then forcefully dropped Snookums to overturn it, instantly immobilising it as Snookums could not self-right or run inverted. Nevertheless, Sir Killalot closed in for another grab, picking up Snookums by the tail and swinging it towards the pit.

"Poor Ed, all he can do is make faces, 'cos he knows there's nothing left of his robot!"
— Stefan Frank, as Ed Robinson makes a facial expression to the camera
Robotrebellion

Snookums is swung around by Sir Killalot

Snookumsdrop rwews2

An organ is dropped on Snookums

Snake Bite remained active to try and take on the House Robots, and Dead Metal was motionless at this stage, but Sir Killalot was easily overpowering Snake Bite. Snookums, meanwhile, had been positioned on the Drop Zone, and a large organ fell onto the top of Snookums, completely falling apart on contact while also bending the frame of Snookums, prompting Ed Robinson to show his fake tears for the camera. Finally, Snake Bite had become immobile and Sir Killalot pitted it to bring an end to the House Robot Rebellion, with the challenge of the competitor robots proving fruitless.

"We call it 'death by piano', and it's a heck of a way to die!"
— Ed Robinson

Results[]

SNOOKUMS - RESULTS
Season 2
US Championship
Heat, Round 1
Heat D, Round 1 vs. Propeller-Head, Psycho Chicken Eliminated
Tag Team Terror
Competing with Bang, Round 1
Round 1 vs. G-Force & Sir Force A Lot Lost
Robot Rebellion
Lost Final Rebellion (with Snake Bite)
Round 1 vs. Medusa Oblongotta Won
Round 2 vs. Ninjitsu Won
Final vs. Dead Metal, Shunt & Sir Killalot Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 2
  • Losses: 3

Series Record[]

US Series Snookums Series Record
Season 1 Did not enter
Season 2 Heat, Round 1
Nickelodeon Did not enter

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

Fintastic

Fintastic at Robotica

Snookums also entered Season 2 of Robotica under the name Fin-Tastic, where it was armed with a pneumatic flipper. It was entered into the same heat as the eventual champion Flexy Flyer, and fell prior to the Fight to the Finish within its episode.

Snookums acted as a House Robot called Lone Shark for the 2002 4th annual RoboJoust event in Las Vegas, which was hosted by Ed Robinson. Lone Shark was re-painted black and featured a set of jaws, but it was only used for the first few fights, and remained motionless for all the rest until it was removed from the arena. Lone Shark also competed at the 3rd Steel Conflict in 2003, before it was sold to an art collector in Las Vegas.

Excelsior Original

Excelsior (left) in the mid-2000's

Ed Robinson also built a 220lb robot named Excelsior, armed with a horizontal 3-foot saw blade, powered by a lawnmower engine. It ultimately never fought under Ed Robinson's ownership, and was sold to a college team for $150[1].

Ptbruiser sf02

P.T. Bruiser as a heavyweight at BattleBots

The team also entered two versions of the lightweight competitor Robot-X, and also the heavyweight P.T. Bruiser into BattleBots. Robot-X was upgraded once again after Season 5.0, and later became part of the clusterbot Ding Bot X, before finally being converted into Spike. A earlier version P.T. Bruiser was simply called Primate.

Sharkoprion 2018

Sharkoprion's hero shot in 2018

For the 2018 season of BattleBots, aired on Discovery Channel and Science Channel, Ed Robinson and John Hoffman built a new machine, Sharkoprion. This carries on the team's theme of shark-based robots, and is an invertible robot armed with a vertical spinning disc, and a decorative swinging tail; the name being inspired by the prehistoric shark Helicoprion. Its first battle was a rumble against fellow sea creature-themed robot Kraken, and Deviled Egg, as part of Episode 1. Sharkoprion emerged victorious after overturning Deviled Egg with a blow, while Kraken lost mobility as a result of a damaged wheel. Sharkoprion did not fight again until Episode 10, where it lost a Judges' decision against Warhead after the rubber from its tyre was bitten away. Its third and final battle was a head-to-head victory against Gemini, where in spite of losing drive on one side halfway through the match, Sharkoprion displayed enough mobility and earned enough points to win the battle via split judges' decision. By not completing four matches, Sharkoprion was not eligible for the Top 16.

An improved version of Sharkoprion returned for the 2019 season of BattleBots. As the team were only present for the second week of filming, Sharkoprion competed in a limited number of battles. One of these was an exhibition battle against Ribbot, which Sharkoprion quickly lost after having one of its tyres torn off. It also fought an untelevised battle against Bloodsport, where it was quickly defeated again.

Excelsior

Excelsior at King of Bots II

Ed Robinson also built a new robot to compete in the Chinese show King of Bots II, entering Excelsior, a fish-themed robot armed with a joint flipping and grabbing weapon, named after Stan Lee, and Ed Robinson's original Excelsior machine from the mid-2000's. It fought Deep-Sea Shark in its first battle, to try and join a celebrity team, but it lost the fight by knockout. Excelsior was relegated the redemption rounds, where it won a head-to-head battle against The Martian, but Ed Robinson opted for Excelsior to join Emma Dumont's celebrity team, which soon over-filled with too many robots to include all at once. Emma Dumont was forced to cut Excelsior from her team, and it was eliminated from the tournament as a result.

Sharko outdoors

Sharkoprion outdoors in February 2020

A new version of Sharkoprion, now known simply as Sharko or Sharko 2020, was built in February 2020 to compete in the next season of BattleBots prior to its original postponement. The robot now sported a revised design based on the goblin shark, armed with a combined pneumatic flipper and clamp similar to the weapon of Excelsior. Unfortunately, during the period of the season's postponement, teammate John Hoffman died in June 2020. Because of this, Ed Robinson elected to sell Sharkoprion to a new team and retire from robotic combat[2], but not without first competing in the 2020 season of BattleBots alongside the new owners of the machine under the combined "Team Aquatic Machine Force". In its first fight, Sharko fought the newcomer SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE but quickly lost the use of one wheel and lost the Judges' decision. Sharko started its next fight promisingly against Slap Box, being able to grab hold of its opponent's lifting arm, but was overturned several times and eventually finished the fight immobile, leading to its second loss. Sharko subsequently failed to qualify for the Round of 32. Outside the main competition, Sharko also competed in the Bounty Hunter spin-off series where it fought to earn the right to fight BattleBots legend Bronco. However, Sharko quickly lost its first fight to Captain Shrederator, getting its tail ripped apart in the process, in what proved to be Sharko's final BattleBots fight.

Trivia[]

  • Snookums was one of the only robots to use an entanglement device successfully, ceasing the blade of Ninjitsu.
  • Snookums was the only robot to be hit by an organ when placed on The Drop Zone.
  • Team Tsunami had no relation to Team Tsunami Robot, who appeared in the German Series and UK Series 7 with Tsunami.
  • Snookums made a cameo appearance in the Series 6 House Robot introduction, and in Nickelodeon Robot Wars as a clip of Sgt. Bash grabbing it is used.

External Links[]

References[]

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