- "Never smile at a Crocodile"
- — Team motto
Sobek was a robot from Massachusetts competing in the Civil War competition and US Championship. For the Civil War, it represented the Union and reach the semi-finals having defeated US Championship runner-up The Revolutionist, but lost in Round One of the US Championships. Interestingly, out of three battles, two had House Robots interfering with Sobek and receiving yellow cards.
Design[]
Sobek in the Civil War, with a sacrificial tyre in its jaw
Sobek in the pits
Sobek was an invertible, four-wheeled robot, designed to loosely resemble a crocodile. It was armed with a pneumatic jaw on the and two movable arms, one on each side. The two arms could lift the robot up, with each one having a wheel attached to the side, allowing the robot to drive on its two rear wheels. They could also lift opponents that were on top of the robot, as shown against Tricerabot. It was powered by as 24V motor, but the wheels were exposed and not particularly strong, having broken off on two occasions; in the Civil War, a wheel fell off after attacks from 6 Million Dollar Mouse's spinning bar, and in the US Championship, a back wheel fell off after Tricerabot drove on top of it.
In the US Championship, a sacrificial tail was seen on the back of the robot, which was present in its official photo, though this was not seen in the Civil War. During the Civil War, Sobek carried a sacrificial tire in its jaw for its battle with The Revolutionist.
Design-wise, Sobek somewhat resembles two-time BattleBots super-heavyweight champion Diesector.
Etymology[]
Sobek is the name of the Egyptian God of crocodiles.
The Team[]
Hunter Robotics in the pits with Sobek
Sobek was entered by Hunter Robotics, a team from Massachusetts. The team captain was Glen Sears, who drove the robot. In keeping with their robot's Crocodile theme, the team members dressed in outfits reminiscent of the character Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series. Prior to entering Robot Wars, he had worked in regional theatre on props, sets and lighting.
- "I've always been a tinkerer, I always liked to build things. ... As a kid, I loved ET, I loved Star Wars. I wanted to create those creatures."
- — Glen Sears, interviewed in The Philadelphia Inquirer.[1]
Robot History[]
Season 1[]
Representing the Union, Sobek took part in the Civil War event for Extreme Warriors. In the first round it met The Revolutionist.
- Rebecca Grant: "You going to be a tough Yankee?"
- Glen Sears: "Yeah, Yankee ingenuity won the first time, we hope to do it again!"
- — Sobek's pre-battle interview
The Revolutionist rips off the sacrificial tire off of Sobek.
The Revolutionist smashes into Sobek
At the start of the battle, Sobek drove at The Revolutionist, which drove down to the bottom of the arena and started to spin up. Sobek drove straight into it, which shredded the sacrificial tire instantly, and it fell out of Sobek's jaw. Sobek was undamaged, but as it tried turning at The Revolutionist, it drove onto the shredded tire, forcing it to reverse off. The Revolutionist had stopped spinning, so rammed into Sobek and tried pushing it, but after The Revolutionist slammed into it, Sobek turned, so The Revolutionist drove past. Sobek turned after The Revolutionist and drove at it with its jaw wide open, but The Revolutionist slammed into its front, hitting the side of the jaw. Sobek's jaw was bent not damaged, and it turned around, but The Revolutionist hit the front again, so Sobek reversed. Sobek tried driving at The Revolutionist again, but The Revolutionist was spinning too fast to grab, and it merely hit Sobek's jaw then turned away.
- "Can they get inside The Revolutionist, it doesn't look like it. It doesn't look like those jaws are going to do any good, that Revolutionist is going too fast for Sobek to do any damage whatsoever."
- — Stefan Frank
Sobek pushes a weaponless Revolutionist
Sobek drove after The Revolutionist and pushed against it, using the jaw to absorb the impacts from the spinner. This managed to slow the spinner to a stop, and Sobek tried to use its jaw to grab onto one of the teeth on the spinning body, but it was no longer able to open and close. Sobek pushed The Revolutionist, then let go and backed off for another attack. However, as Sobek drove at The Revolutionist, The Revolutionist pushed against it and managed to push past.
- "But now The Revolutionist has stopped, which is definitely gonna give Sobek a chance to get in there with those jaws. The jaws don't seem to be opening, and Sobek is not taking advantage of that moment. That would have been the big moment because The Revolutionist ceases to be a revolver!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sobek is unable to grab The Revolutionist
Sobek is unfairly targeted by Sgt. Bash
The Revolutionist drove into the arena centre and tried to get its spinner back up to speed, but it was no longer working, and Sobek drove at it. The Revolutionist drove away, and Sobek turned to drive after it, but drove onto its sacrificial tire that had been ripped off earlier in the battle. This stopped Sobek from driving forwards, and as it tried to get off, The Revolutionist drove into it, and Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ, driving down the arena at Sobek. Sgt. Bash tried to grab Sobek in his jaws, but Refbot intervened, as Sobek had not been immobilised.
- "The Revolutionist gets out of the way as Sgt. Bash comes from nowhere! What's he doing there? Sobek was nowhere near a Corner Patrol Zone! Oh I betcha Refbot's gonna have something to say, and he does! He gets Sgt. Bash out of there!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash attacks Sobek, and Refbot forces him to return to the CPZ
As Refbot chased Sgt. Bash back to his corner, Sobek used its side arms to lift itself off the tire and reverse off. Sobek drove up the arena, which was not spinning. Sobek's jaw was not working, and the two robots weakly drove into each other, and Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ due to the lack of activity in the match. He drove at Sobek and blasted it with his flamethrower, and as Sobek tried to escape by driving down the arena, he chased after it and grabbed it with his jaw. He pulled it up by the wall in the middle of the arena in the last few seconds, but was forced to let go as Refbot came over to him and showed him a yellow card. Sobek drove away, then time ran out, with the battle going to the Judges.
- "Okay maybe there wasn't the most action in the world, but Sobek looked like he was trying really hard, The Revolutionist had a great design there, pretty much impenetrable, and Sgt. Bash gave him probably more assistance than he needed."
- — Stefan Frank reviewing the highlights
The battle went to the Judges, who chose Sobek to go through.
- Mick Foley: "Gotta tell you, it kind of reminded me of the siege at Petersburg, because let's face it, nothing really happened out there! Was that your game plan, to try to lull them into a sense of false security?"
- Glen Sears: "Oh, of course. Once I eliminated their spinner weapon, that was the main thing, and then it was just trying to push them around, and we pushed them around."
- Mick Foley: "The spinning weapon did some damage right off the bat, but once it was nullified, it basically looked like a big... birthday cake out there!"
- — Mick Foley to the Sobek team after the battle
Sobek met another Confederacy representative armed with a spinner in 6 Million Dollar Mouse in the second round.
- "We have a nice little gripper jaw, that we hope will be able to grab onto them and a do a little bit of damage with them."
- — Glen Sears describes the weaponry to Rebecca Grant before the battle
6 Million Dollar Mouse breaks Sobek's arm
6 Million Dollar Mouse started by charging Sobek with its blade spinning, and Sobek turned and reversed as 6 Million Dollar Mouse got close, but 6 Million Dollar Mouse hit the jaw, though the blade stopped on impact. Sobek pushed against 6 Million Dollar Mouse's side, and though 6 Million Dollar Mouse hit Sobek's jaw with its spinning blade a couple of times, Sobek kept pushing it across the arena. Sobek managed to get its jaws just below 6 Million Dollar Mouse's spinning blade as it pushed its opponent towards the floor flipper, but it then reversed, allowing 6 Million Dollar Mouse to drive away. Sobek charged at 6 Million Dollar Mouse's side as it reversed, and 6 Million Dollar Mouse tried to turn around to attack Sobek's wheels with its spinning blade, but Sobek kept pushing at the side and turning to avoid the blade, so 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove around Sobek. However, as it turned to use its spinning blade, Sobek reversed into it before the blade was up to speed, so the blade stopped on impact again.
- "The 6 Million Dollar Mouse looks like it should get airborne with that rotor blade, maybe it'd be better off mowing lawns, because he's not doing too much damage on Sobek."
- — Stefan Frank as Sobek withstands blows from 6 Million Dollar Mouse's spinning blade
6 Million Dollar Mouse buckles the jaws of Sobek
6 Million Dollar Mouse reversed, and Sobek drove past it, but 6 Million Dollar Mouse landed a glancing blow on the side as it drove past, ripping a wheel from the side bar. Both robots turned around and drove straight at each other. As Sobek drove into the spinning blade, the impact caused both robots to jump up a little bit, but no major damage was done and 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove past. As 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove to the side of the arena, Sobek reversed after it. 6 Million Dollar Mouse turned, but when Sobek drove into the front, the spinning blade did no damage when it hit the jaw. The blade then hit one of Sobek's wheels, then hit one of the side arms, knocking it askew.
- "Oh! The Mouse knocks the self-righting bar off of Sobek! That could be a little bit of disaster for the Sobek boys if they get flipped upside-down. Fortunately, the Mouse isn't designed for any serious flipping, but that rotor blade's doing enough damage as it is!"
- — Stefan Frank as 6 Million Dollar Mouse knocks the side bar loose
Sobek loses a wheel as 6 Million Dollar Mouse comes in for another attack
Sobek tried pushing 6 Million Dollar Mouse as it reversed away. 6 Million Dollar Mouse tried driving around Sobek, but drove into an angle grinder. Sobek drove down the arena, and 6 Million Dollar Mouse turned away from the angle grinder and drove after it. 6 Million Dollar Mouse slammed into the front of Sobek, the impact knocking off the side arm that had been knocked askew, and Sobek tried pushing back, but 6 Million Dollar Mouse reversed across the arena. Sobek reversed for a charge, and 6 Million Dollar Mouse turned on the spot. Sobek drove at 6 Million Dollar Mouse, but 6 Million Dollar Mouse turned around as Sobek got close, hitting it with its spinning blade, then quickly turned and drove away up the arena. 6 Million Dollar Mouse turned around and drove back at Sobek, hitting the jaw and bending it. Sobek pushed 6 Million Dollar Mouse across the arena, then reversed as 6 Million Dollar Mouse pushed back. 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove across the arena and turned, then waited for Sobek to drive at it. Sobek reversed, but suddenly one of its wheels came loose and fell off.
- "But wait a minute, a wheel comes off of Sobek! Sobek's 4-wheel drive system's quickly reduced to a 3-wheel drive! That may be alright for him, he may still have a little bit of power left in him to go and do some damage!"
- — Stefan Frank as a wheel falls of Sobek
Sobek is counted out as it burns on the Flame Pit
6 Million Dollar Mouse charged into the side of Sobek as it drove down the arena. Sobek kept driving, but was driving unsteadily due to its lost wheel. 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove into the back of Sobek, but its blade was no longer spinning, so it turned away. Sobek reversed, then limped forwards, and Dead Metal came out of his CPZ after it. Dead Metal grabbed it with his pincers and cut into it with the saw, but Refbot gave him a yellow card. This did not stop Dead Metal, who dragged Sobek onto the Flame Pit, but Refbot pushed against Dead Metal, forcing him to return to his CPZ. As Refbot came in to push Dead Metal and Sobek apart, one of Sobek's side arms got caught on Refbot, and Sobek was pulled back as Refbot reversed, but Refbot drove past to get free. Sobek was now immobile, and was pushed onto the Flame Pit, where Refbot began counting it out.
- "And all the Sobek team can do is watch as Refbot counts down, the standing 10 count, hanging next to the barbeque pit, is Sobek, looking dull and listless! Not a living, moving part within that robot!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sobek is counted out
Sir Killalot drops Sobek into the Pit
With Sobek counted out, Dead Metal and Sir Killalot came over to attack, with Dead Metal cutting into it with his saw, before Sir Killalot grabbed it with his claw and pulled it away. Sir Killalot lifted Sobek up and spun it around, but nearly overbalanced forwards. Sir Killalot finally carried Sobek to the Pit and dropped it in, confirming its elimination.
- "I gotta tell you, from a Southern point of view, the war was often known as "The War of Northern Aggression", but today, it was all Southern aggresion, everywhere!"
- — Mick Foley to the 6 Million Dollar Mouse team after the battle
In the US Championship, Sobek fought Bot-Ugly, loanerbot Coffin-Bot (which substituted for Skullmania), The Revolutionist again, Tricerabot and Unibite in the first round.
- Glen Sears: "We're looking for a good battle here!"
- Rebecca Grant: "All right, purple crocodile? Look at the snap on this thing! Are you kidding me? That thing hurts, huh?"
- Glen Sears: "Yeah, I hope to do a lot of damage to a bunch of the other robots!"
- — Pre-battle interview
Unibite attacks Sobek with its spinning disc
Sobek began the battle by driving at Bot-Ugly, but as it did so, Unibite drove into its rear. As Sobek tried to push Bot-Ugly, Unibite spun around on the spot, hitting Sobek a couple of times with its spinning disc, with one hit clipping one of the wheels. Coffin-Bot drove at the back of Unibite, hitting it with its spinning disc, and Unibite turned around to fight Coffin-Bot.
- "Unibite, with a bit of a spin-around, to see if it can do any damage!"
- — Stefan Frank as Unibite attacks Sobek
Tricerabot drives on top of Sobek, causing one of the back wheels to fall off
Bot-Ugly drove underneath Unibite with its grabbing arms, but Unibite got away, and attacked Sobek again, which was by the flame pit. Unibite hit the side of Sobek with the disc, but it drove onto the rear frame, and had to reverse off. Bot-Ugly drove away, and Sobek was limping, unable to drive forwards. Tricerabot rammed into it, then drove on top of it. The weight of Team Juggerbot's machine caused one of the tyres to slip off Sobek's back, hanging off one of its side bars, severely affecting the robot's ability to drive. Tricerabot was unable to get off of Sobek, so Sobek reversed, then raised its sides arms to allow Tricerabot to fall off the top. Sobek hobbled away on three wheels, and The Revolutionist rammed into its back, pushing it to the edge of the Flame Pit.
- "And Tricerabot jumps up on his cousin, the purple croc, and he rips one of his wheels off! Well that's gonna definitely slow down the purple croc from any forward progress! And The Revolutionist goes right in behind the purple croc! Everybody's ganging up on him!"
- — Stefan Frank as Tricerabot drives up on Sobek, then The Revolutionist pushes it to the Flame Pit
Unibite cuts into the limping Sobek
Sobek turned away from the flames, but could not drive forwards. Sobek reversed, then tried driving forwards, but Unibite drove at it with its spinning disc. Unibite hit one of Sobek's front wheels, and Sobek was unable to get away, so Unibite landed another blow on the same front wheel.
- "Unibite's doing a little bit of a spin, dropping right in on Sobek, trying to finish him off it looks like!"
- — Stefan Frank as Unibite attacks the limping Sobek
Sobek struggles to move, having lost a rear wheel and a front tyre
Unibite turned away from Sobek as Tricerabot charged at it, and Sobek tried driving away, but The Revolutionist pushed Unibite into it. Sobek opened its jaw, and Unibite landed a blow on the front, ripping the tyre loose from the front wheel, then reversed away. Sobek was not immobile, but was barely moving. For the rest of the battle, the other competitors mostly ignored Sobek as it weakly moved back and forth a little. Tricerabot pushed Bot-Ugly into Sobek, as Bot-Ugly had lost drive on one side, but then left the limping machines.
- "Oh, the poor little hobbled Sobek, got no wheels left to move! He's trying"
- — Stefan Frank as Sobek valiantly struggles to move
Sobek remained barely mobile until the rest of the battle, and by the end Refbot came over. Sobek survived to the end without being counted out, but when the battle went to a Judges' Decision, it was unsurprisingly eliminated, with The Revolutionist going through.
Results[]
| SOBEK - RESULTS | ||
| Season 1 | ||
| Civil War Representing the Union, Semi-Final | ||
| Eliminator | vs. The Revolutionist | Won |
| Semi-Final | vs. 6 Million Dollar Mouse | Lost |
| US Championship Heats | ||
| Heat | vs. Bot-Ugly, Coffin-Bot, The Revolutionist, Tricerabot, Unibite | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 2
Series Record[]
Sobek side-on in the pits
| US Series | Sobek Series Record |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | Heat (Round 1) |
| Season 2 | Did not enter |
| Nickelodeon | Did not enter |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Sobek fought as Negative Reinforcement in BattleBots Season 3.0, but lost in the first round to Slam Job. The team also entered the super heavyweight division in Seasons 2.0 and 3.0 with Anubis. Anubis lost its only battle in Season 2.0 to Snake, but performed slightly better in Season 3.0, beating former runner-up DooAll] after being allowed to skip the preliminary rounds, but then lost to Phere
The team also tried to enter the first season of Robotica, but ended up being a reserve that didn't compete.
Trivia[]
- In an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2001, Glen Sears estimated Sobek had cost $4,000, though that was including travel costs travelling to events[2]
- Unusually, Sobek's official photo was taken from the back, showing the sacrificial tail but not the front jaw.
- Sobek was from Woburn, Massachusetts. Though the announcer only announced the state it was from.
References[]
See Also[]
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