Robot Wars (TV series)/Characters/Semi Finalists

These robots have proven themselves worthy of joining the greats among Robot Wars fans, but never quite made it to legendary status. These typically never make the Grand Finals often to their engineering prowess only taking them so far for tougher battles, or they simply met incredibly stiff competition.

Note: Series 1, 8 and 9 all lacked Semi Finals as those wars progressed straight from the last heat to the Grand Final, but Series 10's massive 10 Robot Rumble will be included here, as it is the closest thing the rebooted era has to a semi final. Due to the nature of the sport, there will also be some overlap with champions and grand finalists appearing here.

For more on the Champions of Robot Wars, go here. For the Grand Finalists, go here.

King Buxton
(Semi Finalist in Series 2, Heat Finalist in Series 3, Tag Team Terror Champions with 101 in Series 4)

Win Record: 11 victories, 12 defeats

One of the oldest robots in the show's history, King B has been around since the second series. Some see it as a precursor to Tornado, but its simplistic design, high speed and pushing power helped it power its way through to a semi final finish in its debut, only to be defeated by Roadblock. Despite seeing diminishing returns year after after, it never lost in the first round of any domestic championship.


 * The Alleged Car: The main it never did as well outside of its debut is because it ran on the maximum voltage allowed in the rules. This had the side effect of burning the motors out mid-fight, hence reliability problems set in year later.
 * Badass Decay: As more powerful weapons and newer electronics are becoming standard, King B's continued use of electrically power weapons saw it become less and less effective over the years. Best seen in 2016 when it still had electric forks, weighed 100kg (even after the weight limit increase), and used high density plastic and polycarbonate armour. It wouldn't be unfair to say that King b Remix fared dismally against its round robin opponents.
 * The Constant: Simon Harrison has been a part of the team since their debut in Series 2, and the only original member still there.
 * Cultural Blending: Simon Harrison is married to Natsuko Hori who is Japanese and acts as the robot's translator, as the team states (jokingly no doubt) that the robot is sentient. The robot even brandishes both the flags of Britain and Japan. Through good old fashioned loophole abuse, the robot could be considered the first Japanese robot to enter the wars.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Can zip around the arena at 14mph and is tougher than it looks; most of its immobilisations were due to mechanical faults. That said, it stood up to Dominator II very well when they fought in Series 5.
 * Meaningful Name: King B Powerworks' name is derived from the fact it runs on 36 volts, the highest voltage allowed in the rules.
 * Oddly Named Sequel: King Buxton, King B3, King B Powerworks, and finally King B Remix.
 * Ramming Always Works: Its primary method of attack, and to great effect against the likes of Wel-Dor, Attila the Drum, Kronic 2, and even Tornado at one point.
 * The Rival: Infamously to 101. King B beat Robodoc (101's predecessor) in Series 2 to reach the semi final, met each other at the same stage the following year with the opposite result, teamed up for the tag team terror only to fight each other afterwards. They then lost their tag team terror crown, blamed each other, and fought one last time in Extreme I for a vengeance battle with 101 emerging victorious.

Dartford Girls Grammar (Napalm)
(Semi Finalist in Series 2, Heat Finalist in Series 3, seeded 25th in Series 4 with Shadow of Napalm)

Win Record: 8 victories, 8 defeats (that's 7 victories, 6 defeats with Napalm, 1 victory, 1 defeat with Shadow of Napalm, and 1 defeat with Detonator)

101
(Semi Finalist in Series 3, Heat Finalist in Series 4 and 6 (with Anarchy), Tag Team Terror Champions with King B3, First World Championship Semi Finalist. seeded 9th in Series 4, 23rd in Series 5)

Win Record: 11 victories, 5 defeats (plus 1 victory, 1 defeat as Robodoc, 2 victories, 1 defeat as Anarchy)

Entered with Robodoc in Series 2, 101 in Series 3-5, and Anarchy in Series 6.

Even robots built on a tight budget can be successful in Robot Wars, and 101 is proof of that. With only £5 max spent on it with all other parts being donated, 101 proved to be reliable, sturdy, and hard to kill. With 11 wins to its name, it is one of the more successful competitors of the first three wars, but more advanced weaponry and stronger armour caused 101 to fall behind. The robot is probably best known for its long standing rivalry with King Buxton dating as far back as Series 2.

Team Scutterbots
(Semi-Finalist Series 3-6, Heat Finalist Series 7; Seeded 10th in Series 4/6, 13th in Series 5, 6th in Series 7)

(Entered with Scutter's Revenge in Series 3, Spawn of Scutter in Series 4, Spawn Again in Series 5-7)

Win Record: 17 victories, 10 defeats


 * Actor Allusion: The team's first robot, Scutter's Revenge, was named after the robots from Red Dwarf, in which the show's host Craig Charles had starred.
 * The Alleged Car: Especially Spawn Again; it was fast and powerful when it worked, but it was horrifically unreliable.
 * Born Lucky: Let's face it, the team has had their fair share of good luck on their side throughout the years. Such examples include:
 * Scutter's Revenge made the semi finals in Series 3 after Pussycat was disqualified for a severe rule violation.
 * In Series 5, Spawn Again broke down in its heat final match against Díotíor, but luckily, the latter was already counted out.
 * In Series 6, it barely worked and was set to fall in the heats, until the team just got it working long enough to beat Supernova in the final.
 * Born Unlucky: Almost managed to toss Bigger Brother out of the arena in its Series 6 loser's melee, but it lost forward drive after the initial flip and couldn't follow it up as a result. Talk about breaking down at the wrong moment!
 * Epic Fail: In the US version of the show's War of Independence special, it was immobilised within seconds by Joker; sure it was unfair that Joker spinning before activate was called, but to be KO'ed that quickly is still a poor display by Spawn Again.
 * Every Year They Fizzle Out: With the exception of Series 7, the team never went any further than the semi final's first round.
 * Explosive Instrumentation: In its Series 7 Heat Final against Raging Knightmare, the pneumatic piston that powered the flipper exploded in spectacular fashion, but it left the ram hanging out the front of the robot. The reason this happened is because the team used a ram that was years old, and the pressure from the CO2 simply blew the endcap off.
 * Informed Flaw: In Extreme I, Spawn Again is stated as having "No Self Righting Mechanism" as its weakness. However, this could be attributed to the lack of a roll bar on the back of the robot at the time.
 * Irony: The one time in which Spawn Again was fully functional with no traces of reliability issue, it lost its heat because of the above incident.
 * That said, despite having a reputation for its "questionable" reliability, Spawn Again has a perfect KO ratio; defeating ten opponents by KO, and the only one with at least ten combat wins to its name.
 * Mighty Glacier: Scutter's Revenge had no real weaponry, nor was it very fast, but it did have a lot of pushing power.
 * Real Life Writes the Plot: Team captain Darren Hayden-Ball revealed in 2020 that he had been offered the opportunity to compete in the reboot series with Spawn Again (a new ariel was needed, but otherwise it would've been unchanged from Series 7) but was unable to accept the offer due to a conflicting work schedule, and the filming location in Glasgow, Scotland was too far away from his hometown in Essex.
 * Thirteen Is Unlucky: Averted as it made the semi final for the third consecutive year despite carrying the number 13 seeding over its head.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Spawn Again was due to compete in the All-Stars championship at the end of Series 7 but didn't enter for unknown reasons.
 * It was initially believed that the damage it took it the Heat Final forced it to retire, but the team later revealed that the pneumatic ram was the only damage the robot took, and they had some spare rams on hand, so they would've had the robot back up and running in minutes. It was also revealed that Team Scutterbots wasn't even approached about doing the All-Stars, so they didn't compete.

Dominator II
(Pinball Warrior Runner-up in Series 3, Semi Finalist in Series 4-6; Seeded 11th in Series 5, 6th in Series 6)

Win Record: 18 victories, 6 defeats

(Entered with Dominator in Series 3, Pinball Warrior Tournament only)


 * An Axe to Grind: Has a nasty looking spiked axe, and was one of the deadliest at the time, too.
 * Attack Its Weak Point: In Series 4 and the first half of Extreme, its wheels were exposed, and were a delicious target for rotating weapons like Pussycat's saw blade, or Wild Thing's newly added spinning disc.
 * Born Unlucky: Dominator II nearly went all the way in the Northern annihilator in Series 4, and was   dominating its opponent, Spikasaurus. That is, until its batteries finally packed in and cost it the competition.
 * Determinator: As a testament to Dominator II's resilience, it kept going and beat Wheely Big Cheese after the latter launched it 8 feet into the air and shrugging off the impact.
 * Dude, Where's My Respect?: Despite having a consistent track record, reaching the Top 8 in every series it fought in, Dominator II has never actually won a single trophy; it is the most successful competitor to never win either an award, or a side competition. Also seeded eleventh in Series 5, which is quite a low rank for a robot that finished top 8 the previous year.
 * Establishing Character Moment: Dominator II's first strike immobilised Henry II in 3 seconds. That should tell you right off the bat that this is a robot to be feared!
 * Lightning Bruiser: It was very tough to break, had a powerful weapon, and it was very quick at 20mph.
 * Made of Iron: Its titanium shell was insanely strong, withstanding almost everything its opponents threw at it; only Hypno-Disc was able to put some nice gashes in the wheel guards, and before that, Pussycat almost lifted the shell clean off. The robot was also very reliable, only once losing when its batteries gave out.
 * Mid-Season Upgrade: Around halfway through Extreme, Dominator II entered the arena for a Wild Card battle with some spiffy new wheel guards, patching out its old weakness. Most likely added in response its previous battle with Wild Thing, who shredded its tyres quite nicely.
 * Nice Guys: While confident in their robot's ability to win, the team themselves were always down to earth and took their losses with grace. They have never over-estimated their chances, and will compliment tough opponents, even if they do pull through.
 * Powerful, but Inaccurate: After its wheels were covered up, this became Dominator II's biggest weakness; as powerful as that axe is when it lands a hit, Jonathon Pearce has frequently commented on its poor hit/miss rate. This became a problem when Dominator II was drawn against faster opponents.
 * Weak but Skilled: The original Dominator didn't have any real weapons, its armour was a bit fragile, but it showed good control in the Pinball Warrior tournament in which managed second place with 160 points, only beaten by Razer's impressive score of 210.
 * What Could Have Been: Dominator II ended up withdrawing from Series 7 at the last minute due to unknown circumstances. Had it competed, it most likely would've made the semifinals again. According to Robot Wars Magazine, Dominator II was to be seeded 5th for the competition (4th when it was confirmed that Razer wouldn't be returning).
 * Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: Its Wild Card Warrior battle against The Executioner; all it did was nudge the newcomer slightly, who then proceeded to drive straight into the pit after 18 seconds (and 3 attempts to open the pit)!
 * You Don't Look Like You: At first glance, you wouldn't think that the robot that appeared in the Series 3 Pinball Warrior Tournament had any relation to the bi-wedge shaped robot with a grand looking axe that made 3 semifinals, would you?

S3
(Semi Finalist in Series 5/6, seeded 7th in Series 6)

Win Record: 8 victories, 4 defeats (plus 1 defeat each with Sting 1 and 2)

(Entered with Sting in Series 2, Sting II in Series 3)

A robot that came along in the later years of the show's classic era, S3 enjoyed a short but successful tenure on Robot Wars, reaching two semi finals and placing top 8. Unknown to some, S3 is actually the third iteration of the Sting series of robots that date as far back as the Second Wars.

"I don't think I've been this excited about the debut of a robot ever since I saw Chaos 2 for the first time."
 * Always Someone Better: The two robots that beat S3 in Series 5 both went on to become runner up and series champion, in that order. Series 6 takes the cake when S3 lost to Firestorm IV, the robot that would go on to take third place that year. In essence, S3 has only ever lost to Top 3 finishers in its career!
 * And Now for Something Completely Different: S3 bares no resemblance to its predecessors, ditching the scorpion aesthetic in favour of something looking more like a hammerhead shark with a vertical flywheel.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Absolutely smashed Plunderbird 5 to bits in its first battle. Jonathon Pearce was so impressed with that performance that he pegged S3 as the favourite to win the heat almost immediately afterwards. Bare to mind, this heat has last year's grand finalist, Stinger in it.
 * Dark Horse Victory: Every single opponent it faced in Series 5 was a semi finalist at some point, and with the exceptions of Bigger Brother and Razer, it managed to beat all of them. In fact, it is the only robot to face nothing but previous semi finalists in its heat, and beat all three of them.
 * It was also one of only two non-seeded robots in the Series 5 semi finals, and the only one in this section with no prior semi final placements.
 * Everything's Better with Spinning: Trades the scorpion flail for a 1,000rpm vertical flywheel. Though not the first robot to use such a weapon (we first saw one used by Daisy Chopper in Heat N of Series 3), but it was the first robot to properly demonstrate the weapon's effectiveness.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: The team got serious when they entered S3 into Series 5, after admitting that Sting I + II were entered to qualify rather than actually winning the competition.
 * Nice Hat: One of the robot's team member wears a camouflaged trilby.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In Extreme II, S3 entered the All-Stars Tournament with some anti-flipper plates above and beneath its flywheel. While they were supposed to stop flippers from getting under the disc directly, they had the unfortunate side effect of stopping S3 from righting itself properly when propped up on one wheel, costing it its only battle in that series.
 * Significant Name Overlap: The robot's full name is "Sting 3", but the team abbreviated it to "S3" just to avoid confusing it with fellow competitor, Stinger. Just as well, considering the two end up meeting each other in the Heat Final of Series 5.
 * Strength Equals Worthiness: S3's first two battles have made Jonathon Pearce a fan because the raw power in that disc and the damage it can cause. Jonathon summed its potential with this sentence:

- Jonathon on S3's run-up to the heat C final


 * Took a Level in Badass: The upgrade from Sting II to S3 is pretty clear in its design and track record. It went from a Trials exit, to a Round 1 exit, and finished with two Top 8 finishes. Plus it was far deadlier.
 * War Is Hell: This is the mildest example you can find, but the stressful nature of the ever-evolving sport, and the necessity to modify and upgrade the robot for each new war is the reason S3 retired after the second series of Extreme.
 * What Could Have Been: According to Robot Wars Magazine, S3 would've had the number 8 seeding had it entered Series 7. Whether it could've broken the infamous 8th Seed Curse will never be known, but given that it would've shared Heat M with Tough As Nails, the answer probably would've been no.

Dantomkia
(Semi Finalist in Series 6/7, Heat Finalist in Series 8; 5th seed in Series 7, Most Promising Newcomer of Series 6)

Win Record: 15 victories, 8 defeats


 * The Alleged Car: Most of Dantomkia's losses were a result of mechanical malfunctions. Whether it's a dead battery, the link popping out, or the CO2 system freezing up, something often seemed to go wrong.
 * Born Lucky: Despite a convincing route through the heats in Series 7, Dantomkia suffered quite a bit of damage in each bout.
 * In Round 1, Dantomkia got smacked on the top by Mr. Psycho's hammer with its flipper still extended, resulting in said flipper being bent.
 * In Round 2, Scorpion put a number of gashes in Dantomkia's armour, one such blow caused damage to its gas valve, and it was severe enough that the team had to rush to repair it.
 * Against IG-88, the 8 second bout had the former's spinning axe clip Dantomkia's flipper plate as it toppled over the barrier, and (according to Mike Lambert) sent an electrical surge throughout the robot, frying all of its electronics. Good thing the fight was over at that point!
 * Breakout Character: Proved to be this in Series 6, with its famous toppling of Chaos 2 winning it the Most Promising Newcomer award that year.
 * The Bus Came Back: Its was one of several classic era veterans to return for the show's revival in 2016, albeit under new ownership.
 * Call Back: After losing to TR2 the first time, Shane Swan started beating the robot with a hammer in (fake) anger, which a line in "The Srimech Song" alluded to in the chorus.
 * Defeating the Undefeatable: Won its heat in its first outing on Robot Wars by tossing the former two-time champion Chaos 2 out of the ring in spectacular fashion.
 * Everything's Better with Spinning: Downplayed. Dantomkia can reportedly prop its front wedges up by retracting the kickdown pedal at the rear, and spin on the spot between 400 and 500rpm, though we've only seen it do so in victroy dances, and never in an offensive manner.
 * Game-Breaking Injury: Lost to TR2 in Series 8 twice when its flipper stopped working. First time, the low temperatures froze the gas system up entirely, the second time, its flipper was torn from its mounting by Matilda and was flipped over by the floor flipper.
 * Heel: Shane Swan played this role in Series 8, though it sadly got misconstrued as bad sportmanship due to Manipulative Editing.
 * Irony: Its heat final battle in Series 7 with IG-88 became the shortest bout in the show's history, lasting only 8 seconds. Its next battle against Gravity only lasted 6 seconds as it was tossed out itself!
 * Lightning Bruiser: It was agile, well armoured, powerful, and very fast at 20mph (22mph in 2016).
 * Meaningful Name: Mike Lambert, the builder of the robot, named it after he three sons: Daniel, Thomas, and Kian Lambert.
 * Older Than You Think: Shane Swan was no stranger to Robot Wars, even in Series 8; he had previously entered the show in Extreme 2 with Hell's Teeth in the New Blood Championship, and then with Trax in Series 7 (which lost to Storm 2 in Round 2).
 * The same thing applies to his teammate, Stuart Barnwell, who was previously part of the Pussycat team (Team Kat as they were known at the time).
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Despite being 1/8th the size of its big brother, DTK still proved a formiddable force in the Featherweight Championship, in which it proved to be durable, nippy, and not to mention powerful in lifting the 24kg Mammoth.
 * Put on a Bus: After Series 8, Dantomkia was retired, with the team's new robot Push to Exit competing in the next 2 series.
 * Ring Out: Oh so many! It still has the most Ring Out's to its name to this day, scoring 9 KO's in this way. Its victims include long standing veterans like Behemoth, King B Powerworks, Chaos 2, and Hypno-Disc. Unfortunately, Dantomkia suffered one at the hands of Gravity.
 * The Rival: A low-key example, but they faced King B Powerworks 4 times, the result being 4-2 in Dantomkia's favour (2 straights and 2 joint wins, since both survived Round 1 on two occasions).
 * Rule of Three: Handly won its heat on two occasions, but it couldn't pull it off a third time.
 * Sore Loser: Shane Swan was none too happy about losing the heat final of Series 8 to TR2, which he called a boring door stop. Downplayed though since Swan was clearly playing up this role purely for entertainment.
 * Theme Initials: Dantomkia has a featherweight version that is indentical to it in every way expect weight and size named DTK. It has proven to be just as good as its counterpart in that weight division.

13 Black
(Semi Finalist in Series 6, seeded 7th in Series 7)

Win Record: 6 victories, 5 defeats (plus 0 victories, 1 defeat with Limpet, 2 victories, 2 defeats with Heavy Metal)

Entered with Limpet in Series 2, 13 Black in Series 5-7, Heavy Metal in Series 9.

When a robot tries to do one better than the pioneer of a certain weapon type by attaching 2 instead of 1, 13 Black is the result. Though not the first robot to try, it showed the most potential. To be fair, 13 Black wasn't a bad robot by any means, reaching the semi finals of Series 6, and giving Razer a hard time in the Extreme II All-Stars competition. Despite this, it didn't quite live up to expectations as it simply had too many weaknesses that can be exploited by stronger opposition.