Joker (or The Joker) was a competitor robot that took part in the second season of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors and also in Nickelodeon Robot Wars. It entered several competitions in both series: the US Championship, the International Championship and the Tag Team Terror (with Falcon Mark 2) in Extreme Warriors Season 2, and the Vengeance and Mayhem in the Nickelodeon series. However, it failed to win a single battle in any of these tournaments.
The team had also intended to fight in Extreme Warriors Season 1 with an earlier version of Joker, but lost their robot while it was being shipped to the UK for filming. In order for the team to compete, the Robot Wars production team gave them a loanerbot, which was renamed Joker for the duration of the competition and gave the team their only battle victory.
Versions of Joker
Joker (Loanerbot)
Joker in the pits during Extreme Warriors Season 1
The loanerbot entered as Joker was a tall, silver full-bodied spinner armed with two maces and decorated in hazard stripes along its sides. In Extreme Warriors Season 1, it was decorated in red and white hazard tape and stickers with the American flag and its alternate name, Joker, all around its body.
Joker
Overhead view of Joker
The rear of Joker before the Nickelodeon Mayhem. Note the exposed removable link.
Joker was a black two-wheeled wedge-shaped robot armed with a spinning disk mounted on the front. The disk featured a variety of hooks and chains attached to it, but did not cause significant damage throughout its appearances. Additionally, Joker's removable link was left exposed, making it prone to becoming dislodged and immobilizing the robot.
Robot History
Season 1
Joker is wedged by Run Away
Joker, in the form of a loanerbot, competed in the Tag Team Terror alongside Falcon. In the first round, they faced General Chompsalot and Run Away. Falcon started with General Chompsalot. Both robots quickly tagged the others and Joker attacked Run Away, but then the wedge shaped machine got under Joker's full-body spinner and lifted it up. General Chompsalot came in without being tagged and lifted Joker onto the Flame Pit. Strangely, Falcon didn't come out to help Joker. Dead Metal rescued Joker from the flames and Run Away pressed the pit release button. Sir Killalot suddenly picked up Run Away without reason and carried it around the arena , leaving it on the Floor Flipper where it was flipped back onto its wheels. Cease was called after this, with the Judges putting General Chompsalot and Run Away through due to Sir Killalot's unfair intervention.
Joker is pushed back by Rosie the Riveter
Joker is counted out
In the third place playoff, Joker and Falcon faced Tricerabot and Rosie the Riveter. Here, Falcon and Rosie the Riveter started. The two robots clashed, then Joker and Tricerabot came out of their CPZs to join them. Team Juggerbot's robots attacked Falcon, and Joker was only able to inflict more damage to its teammate by hitting Falcon with its maces. Joker then lost its ability to spin, and it and Falcon were constantly shoved around by the opposing team. Joker and Falcon were both immobilized after this brutal assault. Sergeant Bash set Tricerabot on fire, but it was able to pit both Falcon and Joker (and itself in the process), although the latter had already been counted out.
Joker spins Spawn Again away.
Joker was also one of the four robots representing the US in the War of Independence event. First, it faced Spawn Again, a UK robot with a flipper. However, Spawn Again was suffering from a faulty kill switch, meaning that just one attack from the spinning shell of Joker immobilized it. It drove around the arena in victory while the House Robots pushed Spawn Again into the pit. This was the Sylvan Lake Robot Warriors' only ever victory in any series of Robot Wars.
Dead Metal hangs Joker over the pit.
Joker's second lucky escape
In the second round, Joker faced General Chompsalot once again. General Chompsalot straight away went for Joker and tore off one of its maces, then shoved it around the arena. The robots exchanged blows for a while, before Joker activated the pit release button, only to drive straight into Dead Metal's CPZ. Dead Metal proceeded to attack Joker, grabbing it to pull it backwards while slicing through its shell, before both robots ended up became stuck over the pit. The hazard had to be raised to free Joker and the House Robot. After escaping, Joker was grabbed by General Chompasalot which pushed it straight back over the pit, but failed to release. Joker was now smoking as it spun up its shell, but 'cease', and the judges put General Chompsalot through.
Season 2
Panzer Mk 4 slams Joker into an angle grinder.
Joker competed in the US Championship for the first time in Season 2. In its first battle it was unfortunate enough to be drawn against the defending champions Panzer Mk 4, as well as Snake Bite. The defending champions started off by ramming into Joker from behind, while Snake Bite avoided the action. Panzer then got underneath Joker and started to push it into the wall. Joker became impaled on top of Panzer, who carried Joker into the flame pit and over the disc of doom. Joker finally broke free, but quickly Panzer got underneath Joker again and pushed it around some more. Snake Bite then finally joined Panzer in attacking Joker. After attacking Snake Bite, Panzer charged at Joker, but Joker dodged and Panzer hit Snake Bite. Joker avoided the action for a time while its opponents went after each other. Eventually Panzer pushed Joker into Dead Metal's CPZ and Sergeant Bash came over to help attack it. Joker escaped the CPZ but got stuck on the flame pit. Snake Bite got caught in a CPZ with seconds to go, but all the robots were intact at cease and the judges eliminated Joker.
- "It was no laughing matter for the Joker when that disc stopped working!"
- — Mick Foley
Joker reprised its Tag Team partnership with Falcon, now called Falcon Mark 2, in the Season 2 Tag Team Terror. In the first round, they faced Rocky-Bot-Boa and their wives' machine Black Widow, with Joker and Black Widow being the first to fight. Joker slammed its disk into Black Widow, but Black Widow got underneath Joker and pushed it around. Black Widow then hit the Disc of Doom trigger while attacking Joker. The other two robots came in without being tagged, throwing the rulebook out of the window. Joker pushed Rocky-Bot-Boa into the wall and pushed it right up Falcon's wedge, but the silver robot was not able to flip it. Rocky-Bot-Boa then escaped and hit the Pit release, before going after Falcon. Meanwhile, Black Widow was being attacked by Joker. Eventually Rocky-Bot-Boa came in to save Black Widow, and the two robots switched who they were fighting against. Joker shoved Rocky-Bot-Boa into the CPZ where Shunt and Dead Metal attacked it. Rocky-Bot-Boa eventually broke free after sustaining damage. Black Widow was nearly flipped up onto its side, but was able to right itself. Rocky-Bot-Boa charged at Joker, who then attacked Dead Metal to help Falcon. Rocky-Bot-Boa and Joker clashed once more as cease was called. The judges declared Rocky-Bot-Boa and Black Widow the winners.
Manta launches Joker into the air.
Sir Killalot drops Joker out of the arena.
Joker also competed in the International Championship. In Round 1, it faced Manta. The two machines exchanged hits with their spinning weapons but Manta struck the rear of Joker several times, bending the metal and leaving them immobilized. Joker was counted out and thrown out of the arena by Sir Killalot.
Nickelodeon
Vert-I-Go flicks Joker's link out.
Joker made two appearances in Nickelodeon Robot Wars. It first took part in the Mayhem competition and went up against Techno Trousers and loanerbot Vert-I-Go in the first round. Joker clashed with Vert-I-Go at first and was nearly flipped on a few occasions. It attempted to fight back, but Vert-I-Go resisted its spinning flails and pushed it straight into Dead Metal. Joker was pushed into the CPZ where Dead Metal and Shunt attacked it, stopping its disc. After a while, Joker escaped and attempted to get back into the battle by pushing the largely immobile Techno Trousers, but its attempts were scuppered when Vert-I-Go's lifting arm tore its power link right out of its back. Joker was counted out by Refbot before being thrown by the floor flipper, and it was pitted by Shunt.
It also competed in a Vengeance match against Xylon, who had previously been defeated in its own Mayhem battle against Propeller-Head, with the Joker team accepting Team Tikos' challenge to fight another robot with a spinner in order to prove that Xylon could beat one.
- "We'll take on your challenge, Xylon. We'll see you in the arena, right now!"
- — The Joker team accept Team Tikos' challenge
In the battle itself, the two started rather tentatively. Joker tried to launch an attack, but Xylon's wedge meant it was unable to gain any purchase. After its opponent was briefly stranded and attacked by Shunt, Joker clashed with Xylon again, dislodging one of its side panels. Moments later, however, Xylon counterattacked with a ram to the back of Joker, which was enough to dislodge its power link for a second time. Joker was counted out and pushed under the drop zone, where it was pelted with scrap metal. Joker was then thrown by the floor flipper and pushed into the pit once again, handing vengeance to Xylon.
Results
| JOKER - RESULTS | ||
| Season 1 | ||
| Tag Team Terror Competing with Falcon, Fourth Place | ||
| Round 1 | vs. General Chompsalot & Run Away | Lost |
| Playoff | vs. Tricerabot & Rosie The Riveter | Lost |
| War of Independence Round 2 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Spawn Again | Won |
| Round 2 | vs. General Chompsalot | Lost |
| Season 2 | ||
| US Championship Heats, Round 1 | ||
| Heat A, Round 1 | vs. Panzer Mk 4, Snake Bite | Eliminated |
| International Championship Representing USA, Round 1 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Manta | Lost |
| Tag Team Terror Competing with Falcon Mark 2, Round 1 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Black Widow & Rocky-Bot-Boa | Lost |
| Nickelodeon Robot Wars | ||
| Mayhem Round 1 | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Techno Trousers, Vert-I-Go | Eliminated |
| Other Battles Vengeance | ||
| Vengeance | vs. Xylon | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 8
NOTE: Joker's win and three of its losses were achieved with a loanerbot.
Series Record
| US Series | Joker Series Record |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | Entered |
| Season 2 | Heat, Round 1 |
| Nickelodeon | Did not enter |
Trivia
- Alongside Velocirippa, the non-loanerbot Joker had the worst win to loss ratio in Robot Wars' original run, with five televised combat losses to zero wins.
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