Backlash

Overview

Backlash was a lightweight robot built by Team Nightmare for Season 1.0 of BattleBots. It was designed to be a smaller version of their heavyweight competitor, Nightmare, and had the same weapon system-a spinning flywheel with two metal bludgeoners. Backlash competed in all 5 seasons of BattleBots and did well, winning the Season 1.0 championship and reaching the final of Season 2.0. The original Backlash was boxy and primitive compared to later editions, before gaining a rounded body in Season 4.0 (which allowed for Backlash to self right by using the disc to kick against the floor) and eventually gained invertability for Season 5.0 and the NPC Charity event as being flipped was a major problem for editions before Season 4.0. After BattleBots ended Backlash competed for a short time but is now retired, though still can be seen on display at the Robot Marketplace.

Robot History

BotBash 2000

Backlash started as a 55lb robot, created to fight in the Heavyweight class of BotBash 2000, as well as the Lightweight Class of BattleBots. Backlash first completed an obstacle course and Capture the Flag challenge before meeting it's first competitor, Carnage. Backlash and Carnage headed straight for each other, and Backlash's disc first impact on Carnage's axe-weapon tore the entire weapon arm off his robot and literally exploded the top half of his PVC armor. (A close inspection of the axe afterwards showed that it had hit the axe head so hard that it BENT the steel cutting edge into a V-shape). Disarmed, Carnage could do nothing else, allowing Backlash to go in for another quick hit or two, which shattered more of Carnage's armor and provided a devastating blow to one of his drive motors, destroying it with one hit. Carnage was immobile less than 20 seconds into the match.

The next match was against Evil Fish Tank. At the start of the match, Backlash and Evil Fish Tank clashed in the middle of the arena, and Backlash's disc smashed the front forks of his opponent, breaking a weld or two, but it wasn't enough to distract Evil Fish Tank, as he kept on coming, pushing Backlash to the side of the arena and flipping him upside-down. Backlash uses its flywheel to self right successfully to continue the fight. Evil Fish Tank smashed Backlash hard enough that the front leg was bent in and caused Backlash's own disc to hit his weapon drive motor shaft, shearing it completely off, disabling Backlash's weapon. Rats. Disarmed, Backlash kept on the onslaught for another minute, but Evil Fish Tank was able to ram Backlash one last time and flip him onto his back, ending the match.

It's final match was against The Green Dragon, however, Backlash has internal problems and was force to withdraw.

Despite this, Backlash won the "Most innovative Robot" award.

Season 1.0

After a promising performance at BotBash 2000, Backlash was one of the lightweights to look out for in Season 1.0 of BattleBots. Its first opponent in BattleBots was Disposable Hero. Disposable Hero wasn't 100 percent complete for the battle, but the team decided to fight anyway. The match began with Disposable Hero backing away from the rapidly approaching Backlash. It managed to dodge Backlash's disc twice before being hit squarely in front, sending it flying. It continued moving, with its battery barely connected, and Backlash hit it again in the side, sending its motor flying across the BattleBox. Backlash lined up another shot with the blade, this time ripping off the front forks. Backlash drove around the back of the beaten robot, and hit it once more, ripping out Disposable Hero's electronics. Disposable Hero was counted out as Backlash did a victory spin, moving it to the round of 16 against The Crusher.

The fight started with Crusher zipping across the BattleBox while Backlash advanced, disc spinning. Crusher missed Backlash at first and hit the arena wall. For several more seconds, Crusher zipped around Backlash, trying to score a hit. After a couple more misses, and Crusher hitting the wall again, Backlash finally moved in towards the side of Crusher, hitting it squarely on the side and knocking Crusher upside-down. However, the force caused was significantly less than it should've been, meaning there was a problem with Backlash's weapon motor. Crusher, upside-down, ran into the wall again, but this time, its inverted wedge pushed The Crusher up onto the arena wall spikes, lifting his drive wheels off the ground. Backlash then tried to move in to strike The Crusher again, but hit the wall instead. Later, it was discovered that this impact had sheared the shaft that the disc spins on, but the shaft stayed in place. Backlash moved aside to see if Crusher could free himself from the wall, but it couldn't, so Backlash pushed The Crusher off the wall. The Crusher drove into the killsaws, which sent it flying through the air, landing upside-down again. A couple more hits from Backlash's disc, and Crusher drove back up the wall. Backlash then waited before hitting the back edge of Crusher, bending up the angle metal on the back. Backlash was then able to position The Crusher against the wall in such a way that it could not move and was counted out. Backlash backed away to perform a victory spin, winning by KO in 1 minute and 43 seconds. After the fight, Jim Smentowski gave the broken shaft to Gus Steyer, the driver of The Crusher, as a souvenir.

Backlash moved onto the quarterfinals against Endotherm. Jim Smentowski replaced the broken shaft and put on a new weapon belt after charging up the batteries. However, there was still a problem with Backlash's disc, as it was hardly doing any damage and stopped after every impact. So, after a few hits and misses against Endotherm, Jim changed tactics and used Backlash to try to push Endotherm into the hazards. This worked, as Backlash managed to push Endotherm into the killsaws but taking a shot itself, causing Backlash to fly across the BattleBox, landed back on its wheels, continuing the fight. After a little bit more pushing and shoving, both robots ended up in the corner by the pulverizer. Backlash pinned Endotherm underneath the pulverizer to score points and left Endotherm under it for a while. This match went on for the full 3 minutes and both robots were still running at the end after pushing each other around the whole time. Backlash won on a 7-2 judge's decision and advanced to the semifinals, where it faced Das Bot.

Jim was able to repair the weapon system, as the problem was the belt slipping on the disc. The round started and Backlash advanced on Das Bot, which had added a couple of blue foam pads, in an effort to cushion the blows from Backlash's weapon. This didn't work however, as Backlash ripped both of them off in the opening seconds. Backlash managed to get around the back of Das Bot, catching the squared end and upended it, nearly flipping it over, but Das Bot's arm managed to push it back onto its wheels. Das Bot came around for a frontal attack on Backlash, but Backlash's disc smashed Das Bot's flipper arm, breaking the steel tubing and leaving the arm pointed uselessly skyward. One more hit on the side knocked Das Bot out, as it turned off the power switch. Backlash hit Das Bot a couple more times, then finally pushing it into the killsaws, ripping apart the plywood underside. Backlash had made it to the final alongside Alpha Raptor.

The fight started and it was plain to see that Alpha Raptor was having drive problems, as it could barely move around its side of the BattleBox, but successfully evaded Backlash's attacks for several moments, even positioning itself on the other side of the killsaws, trying to get Backlash to follow, but got hit by them in the process. Backlash patiently drove around the saws to get at Alpha Raptor, and managed to make contact with the side, this impact sent Alpha Raptor into the side of the BattleBox, by the spikes. Backlash came in for the kill, smashing into the back, plastic side of Alpha Raptor, sending pieces of white plastic PVC all over the BattleBox. Backlash moved away to see if Alpha Raptor could move, but didn't. Backlash came in for the kill again, this time smashing into the back of Alpha Raptor so hard that the electronics were destroyed, sending the battery packs flying. Backlash came around to try to get Alpha Raptor away from the wall, and managed to hit him from the side hard enough to send him flying a short distance. At this point, it was obvious that Alpha Raptor was out, and Backlash had won the fight, and along with that, the championship.

Backlash was not finished yet, however, as it entered for the first lightweight consolation rumble. It performed well by ripping one of The Missing Link's wheels and a drive motor from Shrike. Then, it went for Thorn a couple of times, sending it flying with its disc. Backlash then went after Das Bot by hitting its top frame but not doing too much damage. Backlash later attacked No Tolerance II's behind and went back at Das Bot, but its disc stopped spinning and one of its drive wheels stopped in the last minute. It was obvious that Backlash has won this rumble, joint with Thorn for the final lightweight rumble.

Backlash started spinning it's disc early on, but it stopped spinning shortly after and it's disc was immobilized for the rest of the rumble. Backlash was also having control issues and Mouser Mecha-Catbot got it's lifting arm caught through the holes on Backlash's spinning disc. The time ran out soon after and Backlash was still moving in the end, but lost overall to Mouser Mecha-Catbot.

Season 2.0

Backlash returned in BattleBots Season 2.0 to defend its title. Its first match of the season was against Rampage. In the match, Backlash started by pushing Rampage towards the killsaws. Backlash then tore off one of Rampage's spikes and pushed Rampage onto the killsaws again. Backlash reversed and then went straight at Rampage, tearing off the entire lid. Rampage's lid landed on the killsaws and was sent flying across the BattleBox. Rampage was no longer moving and was counted out. This win put Backlash to the round of 16, where it faced Scrub.

In this fight, Backlash found it difficult to keep up with Scrub. The first hit ripped off Scrub's spike weapon, at the same time sending Scrub flying. After a long battle, Scrub eventually lost drive in one side. Backlash moved in for the kill, hitting Scrub a few more times, wrecking its weapon, body and tires. The time ran out and Backlash won on a 43-2 judge's decision.

Backlash then fought Sallad in the quarterfinals. Backlash charged over to meet Sallad, who backed into the spikestrip. Sallad, however, freed itself before Backlash could strike. Backlash zipped around, the spinning disc beating against Sallad's front armor, but the teeth couldn't find much to grab on to, so Sallad and Backlash just pushed each other for a bit. Sallad got one great push on Backlash, pushing the rear wedge into the Killsaws. Backlash's ramp got cut in such a way that it was high-centering badly, but both drive wheels were still barely able to touch the ground. Backlash was able to get moving enough to hit Sallad a few more times, warping its front armor against its drive wheels. At that point, Sallad could no longer move, and smoke started to pour out of its overheating motors. The referees counted Sallad out at just under 2 minutes, and Backlash took a KO victory.

The next opponent for Backlash was Toe-Crusher in the semifinals. As the match started, both Toe Crusher and Backlash moved into the center of the BattleBox, and Backlash was able to hit Toe Crusher a couple of times before Toe Crusher got around the side of Backlash and started pushing it across towards the far wall. Backlash was able to barely escape and twist away, facing Toe Crusher again. Backlash went in to hit Toe Crusher, and landed a solid blow to Toe Crusher's frame, but the impact was just enough to snap the battle-worn shaft that supported Backlash's disc weapon. The whole disc flopped useless to the floor, but somehow stayed attached to the bot. With its weapon disabled, Backlash moved towards Toe Crusher to try to push it into the killsaws. They both ended up going over the saws at least once, but then, after one more trip over the saws, Toe Crusher stopped moving entirely as the wire leading to its battery had been cut. Backlash maneuvered around to try to push Toe Crusher some more, and managed to position him barely over the saws as the referees counted out Toe Crusher. Backlash was declared winner by KO at 2 minutes 15 seconds.

Backlash then fought Ziggo for the lightweight Giant Nut. At the start of the match, Backlash's antenna was too far down, limiting its ability to receive Jim's radio commands though the TV broadcast made it seem like the damage to Backlash from its match with Toe-Crusher was the reason behind the sporadic movements. Somehow Backlash's disc remained spinning. Ziggo hit Backlash from the side, taking out a chunk from his tire and bending the extended shaft. The impact apparently disabled something inside Ziggo, because it stopped spinning. Ziggo moved in to Backlash, right at the spinning disc, and got hit. Every once in a while, Backlash was pushed within range. The non-spinning Ziggo came in and pushed Backlash from the side enough to upend it, and the gyroscopic forces of the disc took over and Backlash ended up on his back. Immediately after this hit, Ziggo found itself high-centered on the BattleBox exit ramp. Since Backlash was out first, the referee counted it out and Ziggo won by KO at 1 minute 23 seconds.

Backlash wasn't finished, however, as it entered the lightweight royal rumble at the end of the tournament. However, Backlash was forced to pull out of the rumble due to unknown issues.

Season 3.0

Because it was a former lightweight champion, Backlash was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 3.0, where it eventually fought Matts Bammer. Backlash got a few hits on the side of Matts Bammer, who came back by using its thwacking axe on Backlash. About a minute into the fight, Backlash got one good hit on the side of Matts Bammer, tossing it through the air and flipping it on its back, ripping off the entire lid in the process. Matts Bammer couldn't right itself and was counted out. Backlash then advanced to the next round against Skid Mark.

Both robots crashed into each other several times and Skid Mark got underneath Backlash a few times, but Backlash came back and flipped Skid Mark with its disc. Both robots continued pushing until Skid Mark eventually stopped moving. With only a few seconds left, Skid Mark was counted out and Backlash won the match. After the fight, Robert Everhart and Team Half-Life all signed one of the Backlash-scarred steel trifoils from Skid Mark, and presented it to Jim Smentowski as a trophy.

Backlash was once again in the quarterfinals where it met Wedge of Doom. Both robots met in the center of the BattleBox and Backlash managed to tear off one of Wedge of Doom's wheels, sending it flying across the BattleBox. Wedge of Doom, however, started pushing Backlash over to the killsaws and they tossed Backlash on its back, ripping off one of its side spikes in the process. Backlash's disc was still spinning and it caused Backlash to spin around in circles, smashing dents into the BattleBox floor. However, it couldn't self-right and Backlash was eventually counted out and eliminated from the tournament.

Backlash returned for the royal rumble at the end of the tournament. It first hits Sallad then goes for Reaper. It attacked Dr. Inferno Jr. until D.I.J teamed-up with Gamma Raptor, the latter picking up Backlash and carrying it around. After being released it gets back at Gamma Raptor. It then gets attacked by Dr. Inferno Jr. again, then Sallad. Next Backlash goes for Trilobot, then Wedge of Doom. It then gets taken captive by Dr. Inferno Jr. who began ramming other robots with it. After being released Backlash retaliates, but Dr. Inferno Jr. forces Backlash into a corner. While it was getting its bearings Wedge of Doom attacks, simultaneously by Dr. Inferno Jr. and Sallad. Finally it gets scooped by The Crusher just before the timer resounded. It managed to go the distance and became one of the two judge's picks for the crowd to vote for, but unfortunately it lost out to Ziggo.

Botbash 2001

It's first fight was against Sublime 4. Backlash defeated Sublime by knocking it upside down and bending the frame significantly enough that Sublime 4 could not drive anymore.

Then Backlash fought Blue Vixen. Backlash went in and immediately took out Blue Vixen's weapon motor, shattering it open, then proceeded to tear up the support structure of Blue Vixen's Lexan armor.

Next, they faced Gamma Raptor. Gamma Raptor had secretly replaced its lifter with a large steel wedge/scoop for this fight. Gamma Raptor charged at Backlash immediately, and Backlash caught the scoop just right and flipped over onto its back. A quick Knockout by Gamma Raptor, therefore meaning Backlash went into the loser's bracket fights.

Here they faced Wedge of Doom again. Wedge of Doom had removed his lifter arm for this match, and added a reinforced large wedge plate. Backlash managed to smash Wedge of Doom from the side and flip him upside-down. Wedge of doom was unable to right itself or drive upside down.

Afterwards, Backlash faced another former opponent in Ziggo. Backlash charged Ziggo and the two spinners smashed into each other. Ziggo rebounded and hit the wall, Backlash got thrown back witha bent front 'leg', but kept on Ziggo, not letting it spin up to speed. Ziggo got a couple more hits in on Backlash, but Backlash was relentless, smacking Ziggo over and over, opening up several gashes in Ziggo's steel shell, and shattering Ziggo's 1/4" tool steel blades. Halfway through the match, Backlash's right wheel got stuck against its frame. Ziggo finally had his chance to spin up, but there were definite problems, presumably because of the indentations left in Ziggo's shell interfereing with the internals. Ziggo managed to push Backlash around briefly, but then, Backlash manoevered around, and managed to hit Ziggo another couple times, and suddenly, the stuck drive wheel somehow freed itself, and Backlash was driving again! Backlash shoved Ziggo up against the wall and proceeded to pummel Ziggo full of holes until time ran out.

In the finals they met Gamma Raptor again. Both bots slammed into each other a bit, and then Gamma Raptor managed to get under Backlash and lift him off the ground. Gamma Raptor got his 'fin' hooked right up into Backlash's underside, and proceeded to carry Backlash around, slamming him into one wall, then another and another. Gamme Raptor was stuck under Backlash, and Backlash couldn't get out, so Gamma Raptor started a spin, and ended up tossing Backlash several feet into the middle of the arena. Backlash spun up his weapon again and slammed into the wedge scoop on the front of Gamma Raptor, this one was enough to toss Gamma Raptor upside down, but he could still drive on his back wheels, despite the bent-up steel scoop. The robots clashed a few more times before the time ran out.

Gamma Raptor took the judge decision and won 1st place.

Season 4.0

After a significant rebuild, involving a more aerodynamic body shell (which enabled Backlash to self right by using the disc to hit the ground and kick it back onto its wheels), slick tires and sharper teeth on the disc. Backlash's first opponent of the season was against Junkyard Dog. Both robots moved to the center of the BattleBox, with their blades spinning, and Backlash drove over to the side of Junkyard Dog and caught the side frame support, flinging Junkyard Dog into the air. After the impact, both robots seemed immobile. Jim flipped his controller over and hit the 'robot reset' button on the IFI, and Backlash suddenly started moving again just as Junkyard Dog was being counted out. Backlash won by KO at 59 seconds and put it through to the next round against Hexy Jr.

Backlash did some early damage to Hexy Jr.'s top frame, but Hexy Jr. managed to get underneath Backlash and flip it. Backlash could not self-right due to the disc slowing down and losing the momentum to kick itself back over, and so it was counted out. Backlash lost by KO at 50 seconds and Hexy Jr. moved on to the quarterfinals.

Backlash once again entered the lightweight royal rumble at the end of the tournament. It didn't perform well as it was almost immediately flipped by Hexy Jr again but overshot and landed on its back again, then was left on its back again against the spikestrip for the rest of the rumble.

Season 5.0

Backlash's first opponent of the season was against Burning Metal. Backlash charged straight at Burning Metal and hit it, tossing it upside-down instantly. Backlash tossed Burning Metal right side up, the impact dislogdging Burning Metal's spinning bar. Burning Metal feebly tried to escape Backlash near the killsaws, but Backlash relentlessly smashed into its opponent again, and Burning Metal stopped moving. Backlash spun down its weapon and pushed Burning Metal onto the killsaws, with bits of Lexan flying. Backlash took a quick victory spin, and then spun up the weapon again, tearing off one of Burning Metal's wedge arms, tossing it into the ceiling of the BattleBox to the delight of the audience. Burning Metal was counted out and eliminated from the tournament. This win put Backlash to the round of 16, where it faced Toe-Crusher again.

In the match, Toe-Crusher was dominant, pushing Backlash around the BattleBox. Despite getting two good hits on Toe-Crusher, Backlash lost the match on a 27-18 judge's decision, thus being eliminated from the tournament.

Backlash couldn't compete in the lightweight royal rumble because the rest of the rumbles were canceled due to an accident with Nightmare during the heavyweight consolation rumble.

2003 Steel Conflict

It first fought The Big B. The Big B basically drove right into Backlash and scooped him into the Drop Zone pit.

Next they fought YU812. YU812 had problems with its weapon motor, there fore was weaponless. Backlash slammed YU812 with a couple of good hits, gashing up his armor, before shoving him into the Drop Zone.

Next was ReticBot. Backlash charged across to meet Retic Bot in the middle of the arena, slamming Retic hard enough to stand up on it's end. Backlash came back around to line up another shot, but the traction was terrible, and ended up hitting the side of the arena first. By the time Backlash was able to get back around to knock Retic Bot over, the referee had counted it out.

Backlash's next opponent was Mini Ginsu. Mini Ginsu and Backlash charged and clashed in the middle of the arena. The resulting impact was hard enough to toss Ginsu into the air and upside down, but was also hard enough to snap Backlash's weapon shaft! Weaponless, the only thing left to do was push. With MIni Ginsu using sawblades as wheels, he didn't have much traction, and even thought Backlash was having traction trouble of his own, he was still able to push Mini Ginsu into the Drop Zone.

Backlash then fought Agsma. Backlash and Agsma clashed in the center of the arena, and both bots went flying. Unfortunately, after the impact, Backlash stopped moving, and Agsma simply pushed the lifeless Backlash into the Drop Zone.

Finally, Backlash fought in the "60 Pound Rumble". It consisted of five other competitors, although not much information is around, the battle resulted in most robots falling into teh Drop Zone with Backlash, however, managing to stay alive the whole time, and lasted the duration against the robot MisDirection, and by a resounding crowd decision, Backlash won this rumble.

2004 NPC Charity Open

In its first fight, Backlash faced the simple wedge of J.R.C.V. It started strongly, managing to hit its much faster opponent with its flywheel and immobilizing it. Backlash then went in to try to attack the immobile J.R.C.V., which proved to be its undoing, as the impact of the hit seemed to bring J.R.C.V. back to life. J.R.C.V. quickly drove away before coming in for a head on slam, flipping Backlash over and stopping its flywheel. Backlash was still capable of moving, but without its weapon it was defenseless. J.R.C.V. had difficulty pushing Backlash, but it could get underneath it very easily, which helped it win the judges decision. Despite the loss, Backlash wasn't finished yet and moved on to the loser's bracket.

Backlash then had to face another wedge in Slyder, but fared much better. After chasing it around the arena, Backlash managed to get the first hit in, damaging the front of Slyder, before coming around the back of Slyder and tearing a gash into its plywood armor. Slyder moved away and managed to get underneath Backlash to push it into the arena wall, but Backlash escaped and attacked with its flywheel, tossing Slyder upwards. Slyder managed to get underneath Backlash again and flipped it onto its side, but the impact of the flywheel on the floor righted Backlash, which attacked the sides of Slyder, sending plywood flying and immobilizing it.

Next for Backlash to face was Little Black Box. Little Black Box drove straight at Backlash, tossing it into the air and onto its side before righting it with another slam. Backlash drove away with Little Black Box in hot pursuit and managed to tear part of Little Black Box's armor off. Backlash hit Little Black Box again, tossing itself over and immobilizing it's flywheel. For the rest of the fight, neither robot could gain the upper hand, but Little Black Box became immobile, so Backlash went through to face Agsma.

Both robots collided in the center of the arena, with the impact throwing Backlash over, allowing Agsma to slam it against the arena wall. However, Backlash attacked Agsma with the flywheel, flipping itself back over and immobilizing Agsma. Backlash continued to attack the immobile Agsma until it was counted out.

Backlash came up against Speed Bump next. This was an incredibly short fight, as the first hit from Backlash's weapon was enough to immobilize Speed Bump. Backlash attacked the immobile Speed Bump and went through to its next fight against Goosfraba Steel.

Goosfraba Steel used its superior speed straight away to knock Backlash onto its side. Backlash recovered quickly, but was almost immediately attacked again by Goosfraba Steel. Goosfraba Steel stayed on the offensive for the whole fight, even stopping Backlash's flywheel at one point and taking no real damage, so it won on a judges decision, eliminating Backlash from the overall competition.

Results

• Wins: 25
• Losses: 14 (+2 Forfeit)