Robot Wars Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Robot Wars Wiki

"This homemade robot weighs in at 27.2 kilograms and runs on two 14.4V drill motors. Not the most aesthetically-pleasing robot, but certainly powerful."
Jonathan Pearce introduces Prince of Darkness

Prince of Darkness (fully named The Prince of Darkness) was a competitor robot that fought in Series 1 of Robot Wars. It performed well in the Gauntlet and Trial stages to reach the Arena Semi-Finals during its only appearance, but lost to eventual Grand Finalist T.R.A.C.I.E. there despite still being mobile.

Design[]

"It looks like one of those old sort of go-karts you made, though, when you were about seven."
— Jonathan Pearce assesses Prince of Darkness's design
Prince of Darkness Former

Prince of Darkness prior to its Arena battle. Note the robot's name drawn on its wedge in what appears to be marker pen

Prince of darkness arena

Prince of Darkness in the arena with a new paint scheme

Prince of Darkness was a tall, wedged box-shaped robot featuring two outside wheels and wooden armour. It had a pair of removable spikes as its weapons, as well as a front scoop for the Snooker Trial, and the team claimed that it was powerful enough to pull a car as a result of its 14.4V drill motors. Unmentioned on screen, but visible throughout its Gauntlet and Arena runs, Prince of Darkness was also armed with a small circular saw on the back. The robot was painted dark red and black for its Arena battles, with its logo and a warning sign printed on its top panel and front wedge.

"The Prince of Darkness team were unlucky as they originally planned a featherweight but their speed controller broke the night before so they cannibalised an old wheelchair, turning it into the red Prince of Darkness."
— Oliver Steeples[1]
Prince of darkness official image

Prince of Darkness' Official Image. Note the lack of scoop

Prince with Bucket

Prince of Darkness, equipped with a scoop and defending its pocket in the Snooker Trial

Prince of Darkness took under five hours to build using parts from an old wheelchair, and was unusual in that it entered its heat in a partially-finished state. The robot itself was constructed as a last-minute replacement for a featherweight originally entered by Team Scimitar, whose speed controller broke down shortly before filming.[1] Prince of Darkness competed in the Gauntlet and Trial stages in bright red primer and without its spikes attached, with its name written on the front wedge in marker pen. This led to it being mocked by Jonathan Pearce and the show's hosts for its decidedly amateurish appearance, with Pearce and Philippa Forrester jokingly describing it as a homemade 'go-kart', and Jeremy Clarkson deeming it 'miserable'. Clarkson ultimately considered Prince of Darkness to be the "worst" robot he had ever seen, despite its strong Gauntlet and Trial runs, even thanking the T.R.A.C.I.E. team for eliminating it in its Semi-Final battle.

Robot History[]

Series 1[]

PrinceofDarkness

Prince of Darkness takes The Gauntlet

Prince of Darkness Matilda

Prince of Darkness is pinned by Matilda

Prince of Darkness entered Heat F, and was the last robot in that heat to traverse the Gauntlet. It started by immediately choosing the middle route, easily crossing the see-saw before negotiating over the ramp. As it descended, Matilda came in and rammed Prince of Darkness as it crossed over the line, pushing and steering it away from the end zone.

"The Prince of Darkness is going all the way! Look at that! Oh, until Matilda came across, but did it cross the line first? They think so - but the Judges say no, they've got to do it all again!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Matilda rams Prince of Darkness away from the finish

Matilda pushed Prince of Darkness against a spiked pyramid, but got herself wedged in the process. In turn, this allowed Prince of Darkness to escape and cross the line, safely reaching the end zone and qualifying for the Trial stage.

Jeremy Clarkson: "That is the worst looking robot I have ever seen in my life, and it crossed the line twice!"
Jon Scott: "That thing can pull a car!"
Jeremy Clarkson: "And what would've happened if Sergeant Bash had attacked it with its flamethrower?"
Jon Scott: "It probably would been a bit alight, but it would've been more spectacular for the audience."
— After the Gauntlet run

Along with the other four surviving robots, Prince of Darkness fought in the Snooker Trial, this time equipped with a large bucket scoop in order to guide the snooker balls around. The circular saw on the back was temporarily removed.

Prince of darkness scores

Prince of Darkness pots its third Snooker ball

Following a tentative start, it drove into The Blob after the latter scattered the balls across the arena. Prince of Darkness scooped up its first ball in the process, but surrendered it following a collision with Skarab. Following another encounter with The Blob, Prince of Darkness manoeuvred the first ball to roll into its pocket. Upon pushing it over the scoring line, the red and black machine attempted to collect a few more, allowing it to pot its second and third balls in rapid succession.

As the other competitors - Eubank the Mouse, The Blob and T.R.A.C.I.E. - lost mobility, Prince of Darkness kept up this performance, ultimately scoring a total of six balls by the time 'cease' was called. With this, it won the Snooker Trial convincingly.

Philippa Forrester: "What d'you call this?"
Jon Scott: "The Prince of Darkness. You said it was an amateur job, so we now made it professional."
Philippa Forrester: "It's a bit tacky, still... it looks fantastic, well done guys!"
Jon Scott: "Thanks very much!"
Philippa Forrester: "I'm a bit disappointed though, because we quite liked that amateurish "go-kart you made yourself in the garage" feel to it, but, that's how we'll always think of it."
— Philippa Forrester discovers Prince of Darkness's new paint job
TRACIE vs prince of darkness

T.R.A.C.I.E. spears Prince of Darkness

Due to winning the Snooker Trial, a newly-repainted Prince of Darkness advanced to the Arena stage, facing T.R.A.C.I.E. in its Semi Final. The battle started slowly, with Prince of Darkness moving towards T.R.A.C.I.E. before turning left, allowing T.R.A.C.I.E. to impale one of its spikes against its wedge and push it close to a grille. Both robots separated, before T.R.A.C.I.E. rammed Prince of Darkness side-on, puncturing its left-hand tyre with its other front spike.

"In comes the spike, like a dagger to the heart, of the Prince of Darkness boys!"
— Jonathan Pearce as T.R.A.C.I.E. punctures Prince of Darkness's tyre
Prince of darkness vs tracie

Prince of Darkness tips under pressure from T.R.A.C.I.E.

Priceofdarkness vs houserobots

Prince of Darkness is assaulted by the House Robots

Another charge from T.R.A.C.I.E. caught Prince of Darkness by the wedge and left-hand tyre, again causing more damage to the tyre, before T.R.A.C.I.E. shoved Prince of Darkness from the right-hand side, spearing the other tyre. This attack caused Prince of Darkness to tip slightly, with both robots now stuck together and open to attack from Sergeant Bash, Dead Metal and Matilda. Eventually, they separated, with T.R.A.C.I.E. ending up on a grille and Prince of Darkness crawling along the arena floor on its punctured tyres until 'cease' was called. Despite T.R.A.C.I.E. being technically immobilised, Prince of Darkness was still eliminated from the First Wars, much to the delight of Jeremy Clarkson.

Results[]

PRINCE OF DARKNESS - RESULTS
Series 1
The First Wars - UK Championship
Heat, Semi-Final
Heat F, Gauntlet Completed (2nd) Qualified
Heat F, Trial (Snooker) 6 Balls (1st) Qualified
Heat F, Semi-Final vs. T.R.A.C.I.E. Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 0
  • Losses: 1

NOTE: Prince of Darkness' successful Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included

Series Record[]

TPODteam

Team Scimitar with The Prince of Darkness

Series Prince of Darkness Series Record
The First Wars Heat, Arena Semi-Final
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Did not enter
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[]

In addition to Prince of Darkness, team member Matthew Wilson also built an antweight called TriumphANT, which competed in the Antweight World Series with mixed success.[2] Its best performance came in Antweight World Series 6, where it reached the Semi-Finals before losing to Anto 3.

Trivia[]

  • Prince of Darkness was the winner of the only ever Snooker Trial, doing so by potting six balls compared to one ball by Skarab.
  • Prince of Darkness is the only robot to be completed during the main competition, having been repainted and fitted with spikes before its Semi-Final battle.
  • Prince of Darkness was the first robot to have its tyres punctured by another robot's weapon.
  • "Prince of Darkness" is a term used in John Milton's poem Paradise Lost referring to Satan as the embodiment of evil.

References[]

Navigation[]

Advertisement