- Rebecca Grant: "You guys are just a bunch of brutes, my gosh!"
- Mike Regan: "Hell yeah, we're feeling good! We're gonna go in there – anyone who wants a piece of The Brute, COME AND GET IT! It's here, it's waiting for ya!"
- — Team Vicious introduce themselves before the Season 1 US Championship
The Brute (also referred to as and later shortened to Brute or BRUTE) was a competitor robot from Redondo Beach, California, which fought in both seasons of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. Under its original name, it reached the Semi-Finals of the Season 1 US Championship, where it was defeated and heavily damaged by The Revolutionist. As Brute, it was eliminated in the second round of the Season 2 US Championship after accidentally driving itself into the pit against Unibite 2.0, but finished runner-up in the Annihilator to Cyclone in the same season.
Team Vicious also competed in the House Robot Rebellion in Extreme Warriors: Season 1 with the loanerbot Silver Box, as The Brute was too badly damaged in its battle with The Revolutionist.
Versions of The Brute[]
- "At the last minute, I decided to go ahead and build a robot for Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. I'm thinking that I have plenty of time... Well, I was wrong! I had to build my first ever Heavyweight robot in about a month,while building my Middleweight entry for season 3 of BattleBots. I was also holding down a full time job... Well, let's just say I was a bit over worked! My idea for this robot was to make it as simple and durable as I could, as quick as I could!"
- — Mike Regan, Team Vicious website[1]
Both versions of The Brute were invertible, four-wheeled box-shaped robots with four externally-mounted go-kart wheels and a 7 inch ramming spike at the back. Team Vicious captain Mike Regan based its general layout on that for his BattleBots middleweight competitor Spaz, with an emphasis on simplicity and durability, with the robot being four-wheeled instead of two to make it easier to drive.[1] While exhibiting good ramming and pushing power in either season of Extreme Warriors, each version was vulnerable to damage from spinning weapons as a result of the exposed tires.
The Brute[]
- "The Brute, at 194 pounds, packs quite a wallop for the amount of size it is! It's been going up against a lot bigger robots and doing some major damage!"
- — Stefan Frank on The Brute
The original Season 1 version was painted red, built with a tubular metal frame and equipped with a set of lifting spikes at the front in addition to the rear spike. In practice, the lifting spikes themselves proved unreliable as a result of the bearing blocks cracking easily in its debut fight due to Mike Regan failing to reinforce them, and were converted to static weapons for the remainder of its US Championship run.[1] The robot was powered by 36 volt electric motors, and the wheels were from go-karts.
Brute[]
- "Well we've upgraded a bit form last series, we have a nice 23 pound spinning drum at the front, goes at about 1000 RPM. We have hardened axles this time, and some better foam-filled tyres, shouldn't have the same problems we had last year. Otherwise it's about the same!"
- — Mike Regan describes the improvements to Brute
For US Season 2, The Brute was rebuilt in two weeks with a heavier welded steel chassis and hardened axles, and simply referred to as Brute. Fulfilling Mike Regan's original idea for the robot, the front lifting spikes and panel were replaced by a 23lb two-toothed spinning drum, capable of spinning at 1000rpm. The drum was welded together from a piece of schedule 40 pipe and two 1/2" thick steel discs, with two 1" square bits of cold-rolled steel for teeth. [1] The robot's top speed in this incarnation was quoted at 8mph. The tyres were improved, being filled with foam, after the damage they received from The Revolutionist in Season 1. The robot was 21lbs heavier than the original, most of this added weight coming from the new weapon, and was powered by two 1.5 horsepower motors.
- "It's solid steel frame, all welded. We've got a 1000rpm, 23 pound spinning drum. We've got upgraded wheels and hardened axles. It goes about 8 miles an hour, it's tough as anything you've ever seen, and we're gonna break some 'bots!"
- — Mike Regan describes Brute
The Team[]
The Brute was entered into both seasons of Extreme Warriors by Team Vicious, a team from Redondo Beach, California. The team was captained by Mike Regan, an experienced roboteer who had previously won the 1997 US Middleweight Face-Off championship with Vicious-1, and was named after the aforementioned machine. Regan and his teammates also had collective experience competing in other North American events, including BattleBots, prior to and in between their appearances in televised Robot Wars competitions (see Outside Robot Wars).
- "First of all, what on earth possessed me to build a robotic fighting machine? It was actually one person... Mark Setrakian. Mark has been around since Robot Wars started and I managed to get a hold of a tape of his robot from the 95' event. I was blown away and had to find out how to make a robot and take part in this event! Well, Mark returned from the 96' event and I proceeded to bother him with every 'newbie' question under the sun... I know I probably drove him crazy with all my questions, but I can't thank him enough for all the advice and help he so freely gave me. If it weren't for him, my foray into the world of robotic combat would have been a much tougher road."
- — Mike Regan on beginning to build robots[2]
Mike Regan was joined by Ronn Holmes in both series, whilst the third team member was Doris Regan in Season 1, and Julio Martinez in Season 2.
Robot History[]
Season 1[]
The Brute's only Season 1 appearance came in the US Championship. In its Heat, it fought Medusa Oblongata, 6 Million Dollar Mouse, Falcon, Shuriken and Red Virus.
At the start, The Brute hesitated as the other robots drove at each other. 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove at Medusa Oblongata, hitting it with its blade then drove between Medusa Oblongata and Falcon, and The Brute charged at it, the two robots briefly bouncing up as they collided. The impact was sufficient to crack the bearing blocks for The Brute's lifting spikes, as Mike Regan had not reinforced behind the bearing blocks. This left the forks unable to work, forcing Mike Regan to drive his machine in reverse to prevent the forks getting caught in the wooden arena floor.[1] The Brute reversed away down the arena, away from the other competitors. Falcon drove up Shuriken's rear wedge, where it became stuck, and The Brute rammed into the back, pushing Falcon along Shuriken, without pushing it free. The Brute reversed, then tried to turn, but the forks dragged on the floor. Red Virus rushed over with its lifter raised, getting underneath The Brute with its front wedge. However, as Red Virus turned, The Brute slipped out of its grip. The Brute could not drive away, as Falcon was in the way, and Red Virus pushed against it. The Brute pushed against Medusa Oblongata and Red Virus, getting past the two, then drove around Red Virus, which attacked Medusa Oblongata, pushing it towards the CPZ. The Brute rammed into Red Virus' side, and Matilda turned around and reversed into Red Virus with her flywheel.
- "The Brute, the tiniest one in there, has got the most speed!"
- — Stefan Frank as The Brute pushes Medusa Oblongata
A short while later, The Brute changed targets, getting at the side of Falcon, and rammed it into Matilda's CPZ, but it drove into the CPZ as well as it did so. However, Matilda was not moving, so The Brute quickly turned and drove out of the CPZ, ramming into Red Virus. Red Virus drove away, then got at the side of Medusa Oblongata. Meanwhile, Shunt went into the CPZ and axed Falcon, and though it managed to limp out of the CPZ, 6 Million Dollar Mouse hit it with its spinning blade, immobilizing it on one side. The Brute rammed into the other side of Medusa Oblongata, but drove up the side of its front wedge, briefly getting stuck, until it managed to slip off as Red Virus pushed Medusa Oblongata.
- "Meanwhile, Red Virus and The Brute are having a major tussle in the center of the arena!"
- — Stefan Frank
6 Million Dollar Mouse hit Medusa Oblongata, while Red Virus turned around and drove at The Brute. The two robots pushed against each other, and 6 Million Dollar Mouse drove into the side of the two, hitting them with its blade. Meanwhile, Shuriken had become immobile, and Shunt pushed it onto the floor flipper. 6 Million Dollar Mouse also lost mobility, and as time ran out, Red Virus pushed The Brute towards the wall. 'Cease' was called, and the battle went to a Judges' decision, who unanimously ruled that The Brute had won the heat and progressed to the Semi-Finals.
- Mick Foley: "I guess you can say that you won that one through the use of 'brute force'!"
- Mike Regan: "You could say that!"
- Mick Foley: "Can you tell us a little bit about what we just saw?"
- Mike Regan: "Uh, I went up against a lot of tough 'bots, and I was just, I managed to pull it out and be the toughest I think!"
- Mick Foley: "Can you tell me what you're gonna do, if anything. Change things around, to make sure we have a more clear cut winner next time?"
- Mike Regan: "We're gonna make some minor repairs. My main weapon actually bugged out on that, and I was driving the whole time backwards, so hopefully if I make the minor repairs, I'll be running on top form, and give you more of a clear cut winner next time!"
- — Post-battle interview
In its Semi-Final, The Brute faced The Revolutionist, its lifting spikes now welded at a horizontal angle to become a pair of ramming blades.
- Rebecca Grant: "What's your strategy?"
- Mike Regan: "Again, hit him hard, hit him fast, as often as he'll let me, it's the only way to stop the spinner and damage him, just keep hitting him!"
- — Pre-battle interview
During the opening seconds of the battle, it drove towards its opponent as The Revolutionist got its spinning body up to speed. The Brute stopped, lined up a charge, and charged at The Revolutionist. However, The Revolutionist dodged The Brute as it charged at it. The Brute turned around and spun on the spot.
- "This should be a real beauty here, both of 'em really good but for totally different reasons!"
- — Stefan Frank at the start of the battle
It turned to face The Revolutionist, but The Revolutionist drove into one of its front wheels, hitting it with its spinning body, then hit the front. The Brute turned and drove away, driving into an empty CPZ. After a brief pause, The Brute turned and drove out of the CPZ before a House Robot could come over. The Revolutionist drove towards it, and The Brute held back. The Revolutionist hit one of the front tyres again, and The Brute reversed and turned away, but The Revolutionist kept after it, hitting the wheels with its spinning body. The Brute turned around, but The Revolutionist hit the wheels on the other side, and The Brute suddenly stopped, its battery eliminator had short-circuited.[1]
- "The little Brute, the little Brute doesn't seem to be moving very fast!"
- — Stefan Frank as The Brute becomes immobilized
The Revolutionist drove away, but drove into the top arena wall, then got its spinning body up to speed. When it was up to speed, The Revolutionist slammed into The Brute, knocking it backwards into Refbot. The Revolutionist then attacked one of The Brute's front wheels, ripping the tyre loose from one of the front wheels, and ripping off small pieces of the tyre. Refbot counted out The Brute, and when the count was finished, Sgt. Bash grabbed The Brute in his jaw.
- "Mike Regan there with the thumbs down, as Refbot gives the 10 second count. He's immobilised, little Brute is history! He's toast, he's pushing up the daisies!"
- — Stefan Frank as Refbot counts out The Brute
Matilda reversed up the arena and hit The Brute with her flywheel, ripping off one of the forks from the front. Matilda reversed into The Brute again, knocking it against the top arena wall. Sgt. Bash grabbed The Brute in his jaw again and pulled it away from the wall, then pushed it into the front of Matilda. The pit was opened, and Sgt. Bash let got of The Brute, and Matilda pushed The Brue down the arena with her tusks, flicking it up as she did so. Matilda pushed The Brute to the edge of the pit, and although one of the Brute's rear wheels was spinning, it could not get away from the pit before Matilda pushed it in. The Brute was eliminated from the US Championship as a result of this defeat, with The Revolutionist going through to the Final.
- "Looks like we just saw Brute get brutalized!"
- — Mick Foley announces The Brute’s elimination
Due to its status as a semi-finalist, The Brute was due to enter The Second World Championship, but due to the damage to its wheels inflicted by The Revolutionist, Team Vicious had to withdraw and Drillzilla filled in as a substitute.
Season 2[]
- "Brute, in at 215 pounds, has a 7 inch ramming spike on the back, that looks like it'll do some damage, and if that isn't good enough, the drum on the front oughtta kill 'em!"
- — Stefan Frank introduces Brute
A rebuilt Brute returned for Season 2, first competing in the US Championship. Appearing in Heat C, it faced newcomer Sir Force A Lot and returning competitor Conquering Clown 2 in its first-round battle.
- Carol Grow: "Do you have any words for your opposition today?"
- Mike Regan: "I'll just say this - be afraid... be very afraid!"
- — Mike Regan's warning to the other teams prior to the Season 2 US Championship
At the start of the battle, Brute held back as Sir Force A Lot fought with Conquering Clown 2. Conquering Clown 2 cut into Sir Force A Lot's side with the spinning blade, then Sir Force A Lot rammed the side of Conquering Clown 2, and Brute drove up the arena, driving between Conquering Clown 2 and Sir Force A Lot as Sir Force A Lot reversed. Brute drove into the front of Sir Force A Lot, then tried getting at the side, but Sir Force A Lot drove past it, driving at Conquering Clown 2. Brute rammed into the other side of Conquering Clown 2, but drove up the wedge, so quickly reversed.
- "As The Brute tries to step into the action, but that spinning drum doesn't seem to be doing too much damage, up against the clown!"
- — Stefan Frank as The Brute tries to attack Conquering Clown 2, then reverses away
Conquering Clown 2 drove down the arena, and Sir Force A Lot charged at it, ramming it, whilst Brute held back. Conquering Clown 2 drove up the arena, and though Brute tried attacking Sir Force A Lot, Sir Force A Lot drove past it, attacking Conquering Clown 2. Brute drove up the arena, past Conquering Clown 2, then rammed into the side of Sir Force A Lot, but Sir Force A Lot turned and reversed, so Brute drove forwards, onto the disc of doom. It turned, then charged at the front of Sir Force A Lot, which reversed as Brute rammed into it, then drove into the front of Brute. Brute tried pushing Sir Force A Lot, but instead, drove up on top of Sir Force A Lot's front. Sir Force A Lot reversed, and Brute fell off. Conquering Clown 2 drove between the other two competitors, and Brute and Sir Force A Lot rammed into it, one on each side. Conquering Clown 2 turned, getting under Brute, as Sir Force A Lot drove past.
- "The little Brute doesn't seem to be too effective with that spinning drum on the front, they might be a whole lot better off backing in with that spike!"
- — Stefan Frank
Brute tried reversing off the wedge of Conquering Clown 2, but Sir Force A Lot blocked it as it reversed past. When Sir Force A Lot drove past, Brute was able to reverse and turn. Sir Force A Lot drove into the disc of doom, getting caught on the edge, and Brute rammed into its side, pushing it free. Brute rammed into it again, then drove down the arena to open the pit.
- "That's a good bit of strategy for them, since their weaponry dosen't seem to be too effective."
- — Stefan Frank as The Brute opens the pit
Conquering Clown 2 pushed Sir Force A Lot into a CPZ, where Shunt axed it. Brute drove up to the top of the arena, where it fought with Conquering Clown 2, but when Sir Force A Lot escaped the CPZ and drove towards Conquering Clown 2, Conquering Clown 2 turned and rammed into Sir Force A Lot's side. Brute drove after Conquering Clown 2 as it drove after Sir Force A Lot, but stopped short of Conquering Clown 2 and reversed, as Conquering Clown 2 pushed Sir Force A Lot into Shunt's CPZ again just before 'cease' was called.
- "Now if I look at that again, I think Sir Force A Lot or The Brute will be the ones going out, 'cause they were dishing out the least amount of damage."
- — Stefan Frank reviews the highlights
The battle went to a Judges' decision, which ruled that Brute would progress along with Conquering Clown 2.
- Mick Foley: "You guys look very impressive, you got the rotor going, looked like it was tearing up some carcasses out there!"
- Mike Regan: "Yes it was, and we hope to do more of that, and I sympathise with the guys, 'cause I know about building robots quickly like that, but I have to throw this in, just because it's too great - built in five days, destroyed in five minutes!"
- Mick Foley: "Hey, you guys wanna do me a favour? Take out these clowns! I want the clown to go down!"
- — Post-battle interview
In the second round, Brute fought Unibite 2.0, a horizontal disc from an experienced team.
- "Well I'll just say the other robots he came into contact with were nowhere near as tough as us. We see that he's got plenty of weaknesses we'll take advantage of, and just do our best"
- — Mike Regan to Carol Grow before the battle
At the start, Brute charged at Unibite 2.0, but Unibite 2.0 turned around, so that Brute drove up the lifting forks, bouncing up, then slipping off the lifter, driving over the disc of doom. Brute quickly turned and rammed into Unibite 2.0's side, then rammed into one of the wheels as Unibite 2.0 tried to turn around. Unibite 2.0 got its disc up to speed and when Brute reversed for another charge, it turned to face Brute, but Brute drove straight at the disc, getting underneath it using its drum, with the power of the drum bending Unibite 2.0's disc, leaving it unable to spin.
- "But look at the drum on Brute! He's just going in after Unibite, totally putting Unibite on the defensive!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute rams Unibite 2.0
Brute rammed Unibite 2.0 around in a circle, then stopped, allowing Unibite 2.0 to reverse. Unibite 2.0 began spinning on the spot, and Brute turned around to use its spike. Brute approached the spinning Unibite 2.0, but held back until Unibite 2.0 stopped spinning. When it did, Brute reversed into the side of Unibite 2.0, getting the spike in the wheel hub, but didn't damage the tyre and drove away. Unibite 2.0 turned around to use its lifter, then drove after Brute, but drove onto a flame jet as it caught up with it. Unibite 2.0 got its lifter under Brute, but Brute reversed off before it could use it. Unibite 2.0 drove after it, but as it got close, Brute turned, hitting the lifter with its drum, then reversed away. Brute slammed into the rear of Unibite 2.0, beside the lifter, using the drum on the back armour, but as it did so, it drove onto Unibite 2.0's lifter, so had to reverse away. As Unibite 2.0 turned, Brute rammed into the back and reversed before it could use the lifter. Unibite 2.0 drove after Brute, which drove past, driving over the lifter. Unibite 2.0 reversed away from Brute, as Brute turned to face Unibite 2.0. Brute charged at Unibite 2.0, only to turn away as Unibite 2.0 turned around to try and use its lifter. Brute got at the back of Unibite 2.0, pushing it down the arena towards a CPZ.
- "Meanwhile, Mike Regan at the controls for Brute, is certainly running circles around its opposition. Brute's got the power of pushin', the grinders are goin'. Now Unibite had better come up with something real quick, or else they're gonna be bot butter!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute pushes Unibite 2.0 around the arena
However, Unibite 2.0 turned, causing Brute to drive into the CPZ itself. It quickly drove out before a House Robot could come over. Brute rammed into the side of Unibite 2.0, pushing it across the arena, hitting the side with its spinning drum a couple of times. Brute pushed Unibite 2.0 close to a CPZ, but Sir Killalot came out of the CPZ and got his claw in between the two, so Brute had to reverse. Brute turned to face Unibite 2.0, but held back as Unibite 2.0 drove over to the pit release button and opened the pit. Unibite 2.0 reversed into Sgt. Bash, who was outside his CPZ, but got away.
- "And Unibite, with a bit of strategy of its own, goes into the pit button. They better hope for a miracle here! They haven't exhibited so much pushing power, but if they can trick the Brute into the pit, it'll be the Brute down the chute, and that'll be all she wrote!"
- — Stefan Frank
Unibite 2.0 reversed away from the wall, and Brute rammed into it. Unibite 2.0 drove towards the pit, and Brute drove past it, then tried to push Unibite 2.0 to the pit, but it drove over the top. It reversed and tried again, but Unibite 2.0 turned so Brute was ramming against the corner, so Brute reversed. It charged at Unibite 2.0, but Unibite 2.0 turned to dodge. The two robots drove around each other, trying to get in a position to push the other, and Brute rammed into Unibite 2.0. Unibite 2.0 turned, and Brute reversed for another charge, but as it charged, it completely missed its opponent, and drove towards the pit. Brute desperately tried swerving to stop itself going down, but it was left hanging on the side, with two wheels hanging over the pit. Brute tried driving forwards to get its two wheels out of the pit, but it merely caused it to fall into the pit.
- "Oh no! Look at that, the Brute takes himself out! Unbelievable! Wow, just as it said it, they did it! I'd better keep my mouth shut in the future, but Unibite is loving this. Look at that, hanging around the edge and – goodbye, down the chute!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute pits itself
As a result, Brute was eliminated, with Unibite 2.0 going through to the Heat Final.
- Mick Foley: "Okay now guys, you've gotta be feeling pretty miserable right now! You nullified their weaponry, you were the aggressors, and then you kinda got over-aggressive and we saw what happened!"
- Mike Regan: "Well we're running different radio frequencies, we had a little trouble over near the pit, drooped to the little. Just put me out of my misery now man!"
- Mick Foley: "Alright, but I saw you, you looked really upset there! I kind of got a kick out of that, but you did a good job!"
- — Post-battle interview
The Brute later appeared in the Annihilator, competing alongside Cyclone, The Termite, Revenge, Thor's Hammer and Hyperactive.
- "At 215 pounds, these guys want to take it home!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute enters the arena
In the first round, it initially held back from the other competitors, then approached Thor's Hammer as Hyperactive hit it with its flywheel, flipping it up. Brute tried to ram Thor's Hammer, but Hyperactive approached with its flywheel spinning, so Brute quickly drove around Thor's Hammer to avoid Hyperactive. Hyperactive hit Thor's Hammer again, then hit Brute, but the disk lost momentum after hitting Thor's hammer, so Brute sustained no damage. Brute pushed Hyperactive, which reversed, and Revenge drove between it and Brute, pushing Hyperactive and trying to use its drum. Meanwhile, Cyclone flipped Thor's Hammer over with the flywheel, then tossed it towards the middle arena entry gate. Brute pushed it against the gate, hitting it with its drum, then reversed as Cyclone closed in on Thor's Hammer.
- "And little Brute's getting in on the action, going in after the Hammer!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute pushes Thor's Hammer against the arena entry gate
Cyclone hit it with the flywheel a couple of times, tossing it against the gate, then out of the arena. Meanwhile, Brute drove at the rear of Hyperactive, but Revenge drove towards the two. Brute drove at it, getting underneath with its drum and flipping it over. Brute then pushed Revenge into Cyclone's flywheel, which ripped through the side of Revenge's drum, partially tearing it off just before 'cease' was called.
In the second round, Brute entered the arena relatively undamaged, to battle the four other machines.
- "Team Vicious is afraid of no robot out there, come and get it! Come and get it!"
- — Mike Regan as the teams argue before the battle
Brute immediately charged at Hyperactive, getting at its rear side and pushing, but Hyperactive turned around. Brute turned and started driving past to avoid Hyperactive's flywheel, and Hyperactive turned around as The Termite drove towards it. Brute drove past Hyperactive as it hit The Termite with its flywheel. Brute drove up the arena, then as Hyperactive reversed away from The Termite, Brute drove back down the arena, getting at Hyperactive's side, pushing it towards Cyclone. The two robots flywheels collided, and the chain came off of Hyperactive's flywheel, and the flywheel fell off its mount, leaving it without a weapon. Brute reversed away from Hyperactive, then drove up the arena away from the other competitors. Cyclone hit Hyperactive a few more times with the flywheel, flipping it onto Revenge, which pushed it down the arena. Brute drove down the arena, towards Hyperactive as it slipped off Revenge. Brute drove into Hyperactive's side, and as Hyperactive turned, Brute turned around to use its spike, but as it did so it almost drove into Cyclone's flywheel. Brute reversed into the side of Hyperactive with its spike, but Hyperactive turned away. Before it could get away, Brute turned and reversed into the back of Hyperactive with its rear spike and pushed it past the flame pit. Brute reversed and turned around, driving at Hyperactive with the drum, but it backed off as Cyclone drove towards Hyperactive. Hyperactive spun on the spot, and Brute drove into its side, but Cyclone hit the side of Brute with its flywheel, clipping its right-rear wheel and flipping it up and over.
- "Now Cyclone goes after Brute, flips him, but he's invertible, so he's going to work on those wheels!"
- — Stefan Frank as Cyclone tosses Brute over
Cyclone turned to attack Hyperactive, and Brute reversed away, towards a CPZ. Brute held back, drove over a CO2 jet then reversing to the top of the arena, as Cyclone tossed Hyperactive against the wall, ripping off part of the front armour, then flipped it over the wall, enabling it to survive to the third round.
- "Took a little clip from Cyclone in the last shot, as you can see but we've managed to patch up the wheel, dropping a new bit in. Stick it back on, we're ready to take on any one of you out there again!"
- — Mike Regan describes the repairs to Brute before Round 3
There, Brute faced Cyclone, The Termite and Revenge.
- "Let's see if The Termite and The Brute can stay out trouble. They're definitely underweight compared to the rest of these guys!"
- — Stefan Frank at the start of the battle
Brute initially hesitated, driving forwards a little, then stopping. The Termite drove across the arena towards it, and The Termite charged at it, but The Termite turned and drove past, meaning Brute only managed a glancing blow on the side. The Termite turned to face Brute, and drove at Brute, which used its drum a couple of times, but the drum was not spinning fast enough to do any damage. It did manage to flip The Termite up a little, but as Brute tried pushing against The Termite, it rode up the front, so it reversed and turned to get off. It reversed for a charge, nearly backing into Sir Killalot's CPZ, then charged at The Termite, but as it drove at The Termite, the drum merely stopped on impact, and Brute rode up the front wedge again as it tried pushing.
- "Brute has got a nice little wheel on the front, but can't really get it up to speed."
- — Stefan Frank as Brute tries to attack The Termite
Brute reversed off The Termite, and both of them reversed as Cyclone drove towards them. Cyclone turned away as Revenge drove at it, and Brute drove behind Cyclone. The Termite drove into the back of Cyclone, and as Cyclone turned and drove away, Brute drove into the rear of The Termite, getting underneath using the drum. Brute pushed The Termite, and Cyclone hit the side of The Termite, landing a glancing blow, then hit the side of Brute, flipping it up and away from The Termite.
- "And Cyclone flips Brute and Termite up at the same time! They got so much power on that thing!"
- — Stefan Frank as Cyclone hits The Termite and Brute with its flywheel
Cyclone turned on The Termite, and Brute drove away. Cyclone hit The Termite with the flywheel, hitting one of the wheels and ripping it off, but drove onto a flame jet, causing it to lose control of its flywheel and catch fire internally. Brute stayed away form the other competitors as Cyclone drove down the arena and Sir Killalot picked up The Termite. Sir Killalot spun The Termite around and threw it aside, and The Termite started moving again, albeit on three wheels. Brute drove down the arena after it, then went for the pit release. Brute drove into the arena centre, then up to the top of the arena, but did not attack Cyclone or Revenge, which were also up at the top of the arena, whilst Dead Metal and Sir Killalot attacked the Termite. It drove away from Cyclone and Revenge, and as Revenge fought Cyclone, The Brute drove into the side of The Termite, which was struggling to move, and hit the wheels with its drum. However, Revenge drove down the arena, driving at Brute, and Brute reversed, then drove at Revenge with its drum spinning, getting under Revenge. Brute pushed Revenge back, then reverse, and as Revenge slid off and drove away, Brute rammed into the side of The Termite.
- "But it looks to me like The Brute is doing all the work here. Everybody else is being dismantled!"
- — Stefan Frank as The Brute attacks The Termite and Revenge
The Termite limped away as Brute turned and reversed, charging up the arena, straight into the side of Cyclone, but then turned to attack Revenge. Brute attacked Revenge with its drum, but then turned on The Termite, which had stopped moving. Brute rammed The Termite and hit it with its drum, then turned around to use its spike, and pushed The Termite down the arena, towards the pit. Revenge drove into the side of Brute as it did so, but Brute kept pushing, but as it got near the pit, it drove up the rear wedge of The Termite. Brute drove off, and reversed into The Termite to try and push it into the pit, but The Termite was still able to make a few small twitches of movement, and tried to turn as Brute pushed it, so Brute and drove forwards for another attack. Brute then reversed at The Termite and finally pushed it into the pit.
- "Will he be able to get him in the pit? It looks like it's gonna be possible, but the camber of The Termite, on those tyres, is keeping him from pushing him sideways. But not enough, and they go down!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute pushes The Termite into the pit
Brute therefore progressed to the fourth round, a three-way battle against Revenge and Cyclone.
- Mick Foley: "I know that if it had been me, the strategy would have been: as soon as Cyclone was hurt, to gang up on him and get him out of the competition! Let's face it, he's gonna go back, come back better than new and kick all your butts! Any chance of that, why didn't that happen?"
- Mike Regan: "Ah, we got a plan!"
- Mick Foley: "You've got a plan? And the plan didn't involve driving yourself into the pit, put driving Termite into the the pit! Okay, you showed him you could hurt other cars!"
- — Post-battle interview
At the start of the battle, Brute drove forwards a little, then turned to attack Revenge, but Revenge started spinning, so Brute drove past. Cyclone closed in on Revenge, and as the two fought, Brute drove down the arena and opened the pit.
- "And it looks like Brute has backed into that pit trigger. Great bit of tactics, a little David and Goliath here, as they are gonna try and put someone else in the pit"
- — Stefan Frank
It reversed away, driving after Cyclone as it chased Revenge, but as it did so, Brute drove along the edge of the pit, so quickly drove forwards to prevent itself falling in. The hits from Cyclone's flywheel had immobilised Revenge, and as it pushed Revenge into Sgt. Bash's CPZ, Brute charged into the rear of Cyclone, pushing it into the CPZ with Revenge. As Brute reversed back up the arena, Cyclone hit Revenge with its flywheel spinning, then turned and drove out of the CPZ, towards Brute. Brute turned around to use its spike as Cyclone drove towards it, but as Cyclone closed in, it turned and drove past. Brute reversed into Cyclone's side with its spike as it passed, but then drove away, and both robots held back as Dead Metal and Sgt. Bash attacked the immobile Revenge.
- "It's a party in the Corner Patrol Zone! Brute, Cyclone and Revenge are all taking it out!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute pushes Cyclone into Sgt. Bash's CPZ
Refbot counted Revenge out, and neither Brute nor Cyclone attacked each other any further as their defeated opponent was dragged onto the Floor Flipper by Dead Metal, thrown across the arena and pitted. With Revenge eliminated, both robots qualified for the Annihilator final.
- Mick Foley: "I'm not saying you guys didn't doing anything out there, but maybe you could tell me what exactly you were doing out there?"
- Mike Regan: "Our strategy was try and get the pit open, and leave something for Cyclone to drive into, if we could get him over there, then by the time I get over there, there's House 'bots all around, Revenge was getting beat on, I got one hit on the back of Cyclone, backed out!"
- — Post-battle interview
For the final against Cyclone, Team Vicious attempted to use their superior speed to outmanoeuvre Cyclone, and use Brute's own drum as defence.
- Carol Grow: "Brute, what do you think your advantages are over the Cyclone?"
- Mike Regan: "I think we've got some speed and some maneuverability over him. I think we'd try and outdrive him, if that doesn't do it, we've got the largest chunk of steel he's ever tried to bite into and we'll just... put that right into the blades and see what that does."
- — Mike Regan explains his strategy for the Annihilator final
The two robots slowly approached each other, and Team Vicious stayed true to their tactics by driving Brute straight into Cyclone's disk, with Brute being flipped up as Cyclone hit its chassis and drum in rapid succession. Brute landed upright and reversed, then charged drum-first into Cyclone's disk again, and this time, it hit the disk with its drum spinning, flicking Cyclone up, allowing it to get under the front corner and ram Cyclone across the arena, and pin it against an angle grinder. In doing so, it managed to rip two teeth off of Cyclone's disk and cause a drive belt to shear loose from the Team Raptor machine, before Brute reversed.
- "It looks like Mike Regan was right about his little weapon on The Brute. That metal just tore the extra belt off of Cyclone. [Cyclone's] still got power with that disk, but my guess is he doesn't have as much power!"
- — Stefan Frank after Brute shears Cyclone's teeth – and weapon belt – off
Cyclone got free of the angle grinder, and it drove after Brute, hitting the front, buffeting Brute. Brute reversed around the CPZ, and Cyclone followed, but as it got close to Brute, it drove on the edge of the CPZ, and Sgt. Bash blocked it with his front pincer. Brute got at the side of his disc and tried pushing Cyclone, but Cyclone reversed. Brute reversed, but drove into the top arena wall, and Cyclone hit the drum with its flywheel. However, after a few hits on the drum, Cyclone's flywheel stopped working entirely. As Cyclone reversed for another charge, Brute tried to drive away, but accidentally turned into Sgt. Bash's CPZ.
- "As the little Brute is coming up with the goods in this final, we never thought they were going to this good, but he better get out of that Corner Patrol Zone before Bash does some flamethrowing!"
- — Stefan Frank as Brute drives into the CPZ
It reversed as Sgt. Bash drove towards it, and Sgt. Bash pushed it against the wall. Sgt. Bash reversed, but by this point, the damage was sufficient to cause part of the chassis to get 'pinched' against Brute's wheels, preventing Brute from driving straight for a short while.[1] As a result, Brute accidentally turned into Sgt. Bash as it tried to drive away from the CPZ. It reversed, but still couldn't drive forwards, and accidentally turned into the CPZ again. It drove into Sgt. Bash again, but managed to reverse out of the CPZ. Cyclone drove towards Brute, but with its flywheel no longer working, it could not attack, so it reversed.
- "They've got no power left on their weaponry, which means it's gonna be straight down to driving. So Brute against Cyclone, and the playing field has been levelled a little better!"
- — Stefan Frank
Brute reversed across the arena, driving close to Shunt's CPZ, and it turned right into Shunt. It quickly reversed before the House Robot could attack, but reversed into an angle grinder. It tried driving away from the CPZ, but drove straight into Shunt, who axed it and pushed it against the wall. Shunt lifted it with his scoop, then dropped it and reversed back into the CPZ. Brute drove along the edge of the CPZ, and Cyclone drove towards it. Brute reversed, but in doing so it drove into the CPZ, and Shunt pushed it out of the CPZ, narrowly missing the body with an axe blow, and pushed Brute out of the CPZ. Shunt lifted Brute up on one side with his scoop, and Brute reversed, driving off the scoop, but backing into the arena wall.
- "Shunt with that diamond-edged axe, burying it into the side of Brute! Brute better stay out of that CPZ if he knows what's good for him!"
- — Stefan Frank
Brute drove forwards, and Cyclone drove at its front, but as its flywheel wasn't working, this allowed Brute to get under the front, and push it back towards Shunt's CPZ. Shunt came out to the edge of the CPZ and axed Cyclone. Brute tried to pin Cyclone against the wall, but drove onto a CO2 vent, and stopped. Cyclone drove forwards, and Brute started moving again, then reversed. Cyclone drove down the arena and opened the pit, whilst Brute once again drove into Sgt. Bash. It tried to drive away, but could not drive straight, and turned into the CPZ, driving into the wall. This allowed Sgt. Bash to grab the side with his pincers, dragging it out of the CPZ. It was later revealed that Sgt. Bash's pincers dented Brute's drive motor housing, which cracked one of the magnets, immobilizing it completely.[1]
- "Poor Brute, has taken some major abuse! A hundred pounds lighter than his opposition in this round, and it takes a House Bot to dispose of 'im, so you tell me what's fair! Now in all fairness, actually, Brute did spend a lot of time in the CPZs, so he deserves what he gets."
- — Stefan Frank as Brute is cornered and immobilized by Sgt. Bash
Refbot came over to the CPZ and counted Brute out, and when the count was finished, Sgt. Bash got its pincer around Brute, and Shunt came over to the same CPZ to attack Brute. Shunt pushed Brute out of the CPZ, and after Brute was turned over off-camera, Shunt pushed it down the arena, straight into the pit. As a result, it and Team Vicious finished runner-up in the US Season 2 Annihilator.
- Mick Foley: "Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!"
- Mike Regan: "Thanks!"
- Mick Foley: "Actually I was talking about Carol, our pit presenter, not your bout, because let's face it the bout was a little bit ugly! The Brute was seemingly having its way with the very formidable Cyclone, and then something happened to the drive train, allowing our House Robots to really do a number on him!"
- Mike Regan: "Yeah, we fed him steel, and he couldn't take it, and somewhere we got a pinched wheel that sort of had some trouble driving."
- Mick Foley: "But you knocked out a couple of Cyclone's teeth and I must add that women find those missing teeth attractive!"
- — Post-battle interview
Results[]
THE BRUTE - RESULTS | ||
Season 1 | ||
US Championship Semi-Finals | ||
Heat | vs. 6 Million Dollar Mouse, Falcon, Medusa Oblongata, Red Virus, Shuriken | Won |
Semi-Final | vs. The Revolutionist | Lost |
BRUTE - RESULTS | ||
Season 2 | ||
US Championship Heats, Round 2 | ||
Heat C, Round 1 | vs. Conquering Clown 2, Sir Force A Lot | Qualified |
Heat C, Round 2 | vs. Unibite 2.0 | Lost |
Annihilator Second Place | ||
Round 1 | vs. Cyclone, Hyperactive, Revenge, The Termite, Thor's Hammer |
Qualified |
Round 2 | vs. Cyclone, Hyperactive, Revenge, The Termite | Qualified |
Round 3 | vs. Cyclone, Revenge, The Termite | Qualified |
Round 4 | vs. Cyclone, Revenge | Qualified |
Final | vs. Cyclone | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 6
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
US Series | The Brute Series Record |
---|---|
Season 1 | Semi-Finals |
Season 2 | Heat, Round 2 |
Nickelodeon | Did not enter |
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
Prior to the start of the UK Robot Wars TV series, Team Vicious competed in the original US Robot Wars competitions, with their first entry being the middleweight Vicious-1, which won the middleweight championship at Robot Wars 1997 in San Francisco[3].
In 1998, the team built the featherweight S.O.B., which finished as runner-up in the 'Bot Bash' at Arizona CopperCon[4].
They also enjoyed considerable success in the original BattleBots with the middleweight thwackbot Spaz, which first participated in the Long Beach 1999. Its first battle was against Carnivore, but Carnivore won by KO. Spaz went into the loser's bracket, where it fought Stuffie. Stuffie won the battle on a judges' decision, eliminating Spaz. It did get another chance to compete in the Megabot Rumble at the end of the tournament. It survived to the end as one of the few robots still mobile, but Deadblow was named the winner. [5]
However, it returned for the Comedy Central Season 2.0 Middleweight Championship, where it won all 5 of its battles, defeating Tobor Rabies, Blue Streak, Buddy Lee Don't Play in the Street, Bad Attitude and El Diablo. After this, Spaz was retired.
Also at the BattleBots Long Beach 1999 event, Team Vicious entered the Lightweight Championship with Deathtrap[6], which defeated Rott-Bott, but then lost to Executioner. Falling into the losers' bracket, it was drawn against Israeli robot Annuit Geptus, which withdrew. It then defeated Gorange 3 by KO, then beat Shrike, but was drawn against Executioner again, which won by crowd vote, eliminating Deathtrap.
Team Vicious also entered the Lightweight division of BattleBots Season 2.0 with Scrub, which defeated Lambo to reach the round of 16 before losing to Backlash there[7].
Spaz was succeeded by Thwak for Season 3.0, which defeated Pscyhotron, Mobster and Traxx to reach the Round of 32 in that season before losing to Twin Paradox at that stage[8].
Mike Regan also entered the "SozBot" weight class competitions in 2001 and 2002, a competition for 16oz robots[9]. In 2001, he entered V1, a robot with a scoop, built in just two days, which finished 9th out of 17 robots. The next year, he entered Twitch, armed with a spinning bar, but the robot's drive train was not strong enough to withstand the forces from the weapon. Mike Regan tried changing the tyres from super traction silicone tires to flexible rubber tires, which helped protect the drive train, but Twitch still lost its second battle, after being pushed out by its opponent.
Mike Regan was also asked by Dan Danknick to build a robotic referee for the Da Vinci Days Antweight Workshop, mostly to clear the arena after battles, so he built Robo-Ref, an antweight designed to resemble Refbot.
Trivia[]
- Alongside two of its US Season 1 opponents - Shuriken and Falcon - The Brute makes cameo appearances in every episode of Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1, Robot Wars: The Fifth Wars, Dutch Robot Wars: Series 1 and German Robot Wars. All three robots can be seen behind the boards showing the list of events/rounds in each episode of the aforementioned series, with The Brute's wheels and lifting spikes being the only features consistently visible behind the outer wall structure.
Honours[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 'BRUTE' page', Team Vicious website (archived)
- ↑ Team Vicious website, VICIOUS-1 (Archived)
- ↑ Team Vicious website, VICIOUS-1 (Archived)
- ↑ Team Vicious website, S.O.B. (Archived)
- ↑ Team Vicious website, Spaz (Archived)
- ↑ Team Vicious website, Deathtrap
- ↑ Team Vicious website, Scrub (Archived)
- ↑ Team Vicious website, THWAK!(Archived)
- ↑ Team Vicious website, SozBot Entries (Archived)
External Links[]
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