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"it's pretty obvious here that VenoM (nothing to do with Team Venom of previous wars...) whipped everybody that tried to go up against it, I guess it just goes to show that weapons and armour aren't the most important things."
— Mr Punch website

Not to be confused with a different robot of the same name that attempted to enter Series 3, Venom.

VenoM, otherwise known as Venom, was a robot that attempted to enter Series 3 and 4 of Robot Wars. Entered by members of the Scouts Association and South Bank University, VenoM reportedly auditioned for Series 3, but was not seen on television, and then failed to qualify for Series 4, despite inflicting major damage to The Morgue's weaponry at the Robot Mayhem live event.

Design[]

"... a robot built by the Scouts association with sponsored help. Their main weapon was a very effective pneumatic flipper."
— The Morgue website describes VenoM

VenoM was a two-wheeled, wedge-shaped robot. For Series 3, it is believed that VenoM would have been equipped with a pneumatic spike capable of firing once per second,[1] although it was redesigned with a pneumatic flipper for its qualifying attempt into Series 4. The robot was themed around a reptile, being painted green and yellow with scale-like motifs and yellow eyes. Unlike most other robots, VenoM had plywood armour instead of metal, and lacked a full baseplate. Additionally, its wheels were exposed from the sides, leaving its tyres susceptible to getting punctured through side-on attacks.

Qualification[]

"VenoM was a surprise to all of us - the bodywork was simple and effective, and the controller and motors were straight out of a wheelchair. Spikes were the only weapons fitted, though Jamie had a special weapons plan up his sleeve, which should be ready for Robot Wars..."
— Mr Punch website prior to Series 3
Venom chassis

VenoM in 1999, prior to Series 3. Note the lack of a flipper

Prior to Series 3, VenoM was first completed without its flipper, and was equipped with static spikes for weaponry. The team had intended to enter Series 3 with a flipper, and according to the Mr Punch website, VenoM successfully qualified for Series 3.[2] However, VenoM was not seen on television, suggesting it withdrew from the competition.

"Apart from Mr Punch, VenoM was the only other robot (from 8) that qualified from South Bank University for the third series of Robot Wars."
— Mr Punch website

To qualify for Series 4, VenoM attended the Robot Mayhem live event on 27 July 2000. Here, it fought Welsh hopeful The Morgue in its only known qualifier battle. VenoM started well, ramming The Morgue and using its flipper to startle its opponent's driver, Mark Hooper. Though The Morgue breached its ground clearance at one point, VenoM reversed, allowing it to drive and activate its flipper underneath The Morgue's lifter, breaking it. VenoM, in spite of this highly damaging attack, was eventually immobilised by a ramming attack from The Morgue, before having one of its wheelchair tyres punctured. It was then jointly pitted by The Morgue and Shunt, and failed to qualify for The Fourth Wars.[3]

Series Record[]

Series VenoM Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Withdrew
The Fourth Wars Failed to qualify
The Fifth Wars Did not enter
The Sixth Wars Did not enter
The Seventh Wars Did not enter
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

Outside Robot Wars[]

Vemon vs rawbot

VenoM flipping Rambot at the 2000 Debenham Robot Rumble

VenomAxed

VenoM gets axed by Dominator 2 at the Debenham Robot Rumble

D2axesV

Dominator 2 axes the underside of VenoM at the Debenham Robot Rumble

Prior to its qualification attempts on Robot Wars, VenoM was first built for an inter-university competition, held between four functional robots at South Bank University in 1999. Although VenoM was only equipped with static spikes at the time, it comfortably won its three battles. VenoM's first opponent Tred could not move fluently, and VenoM defeated Mr Punch by pushing it around the arena before emerging victorious over Sir Lancelot, which started smoking.

"On the day of the battle at South Bank University, we all felt we'd made pretty good robots. Jamie beat everyone else to a pulp with VenoM - it could run rings around any of us and had the power to push all the others about the floor - even Tred."
— Mr Punch website

The Series 4 version of VenoM competed at the Debenham Robot Rumble event in 2000. In the morning session, VenoM defeated Rambot in the first round by flipping it but lost to Dominator 2 in the semi-finals after being axed several times and then turned over. VenoM then fought Dominator 2 a second time in the afternoon session and lost once again in a similar fashion.[4]

After retiring VenoM, Jamie Henderson designed a new robot named Vanguard, which he planned to enter into another series of Robot Wars, although it is unknown if Vanguard was ever completed. Mike Duke also started building a new robot using the remains of VenoM, again around August 2000, but its final progress remains unknown.[5]

Trivia[]

  • Team Robo Challenge created a machine also called Venom. However, that robot is a featherweight version of Razer, and is completely unrelated to this machine.
  • Another machine called Venom would attempt to enter Series 3 and fail to compete, though the two are not linked.

References[]

External Links[]

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