Blacksmith

Blacksmith was a robot built by Al Kindle (who previously competed in the old show with Enforcer) which competed in Season 2 of ABC's BattleBots reboot and the first two seasons on Discovery and Science. Its main weapon is rather unique - a hammer with a flamethrower set inside. This weapon proved to be very eye-catching, which led to Blacksmith being used in a lot of teaser footage for the second season.

For Season 3, Blacksmith was rebuilt after the destruction of its previous chassis was set on fire due to the batteries. Al included interchangeable front forks and wedges, a revised chassis, HDPE around the axe shaft, and a remade hammer head. This version unfortunately did worse than its previous version, picking up an extra loss than its ABC debut.

For Season 4, Blacksmith gained another chassis upgrade, some new fork options, a new hammer shaft, and a bulkier, more rounded out hammerhead with a little radioactive symbol cut out in it. This version proved to be the most successful, going an even 3-3 on the season, but going home as a smoking wreck to an upgraded Witch Doctor in the Round of 16.

In a podcast, it was confirmed that Blacksmith wouldn't return for Season 5.

Blacksmith's design was inspired by a 30-pound sportsman class robot named Mangi which was also built by Kindle.

Robot History

ABC Season 2

Blacksmith was one of twelve robots which was forced to fight through the three-way melees of the qualifier round in order to make it into the main bracket. It was placed up against two brand-new teams in Gemini and Basilisk. The match started quickly for Blacksmith, as it charged Basilisk when it approached and dealt damage to Basilisk's flipping arm with its hammer. This seemed to incapacitate Basilisk, so Blacksmith attacked the two Gemini robots, seemingly unfazed by their weapons. Soon, Blacksmith had cornered both Gemini robots and hammered away, knocking out the black half of Gemini.

However, the assault took a toll on Blacksmith, as it began to show control issues itself. Basilisk's drone counterpart, Afterbyte, landed near Blacksmith at this point, and Blacksmith scooped it up and smashed it with the hammer. Basilisk itself soon began moving again and once again attacked Blacksmith, but it quickly slowed and stopped once again after taking a few more hits. Blacksmith continued to beat on the red half of Gemini until the final 30 seconds of the match, where it stopped entirely due to a drive chain problem. Smoke and then flame began pouring from Blacksmith's internals, and it looked like it was going to be counted out. However, halfway into the countdown, Blacksmith's drive chain problem resolved itself and Blacksmith moved for just long enough to show controlled movement before time ran out on the match. The match went to the judges, who ruled a unanimous decision for Blacksmith. The reason Blacksmith caught fire was due to the weapon motor burning out, compounded with some spilled propane from the weapon system. This win put Blacksmith to the round of 48.

Here, it faced the daunting challenge of fighting previous semi-finalist Bronco. After dodging each other for the first few seconds, Blacksmith missed its first hammer attack, which allowed Bronco to flip it three times in succession, the last one getting it caught on the screws. Blacksmith escaped, but its flamethrower wasn't working. It pushed underneath Bronco and rammed it into the side wall, hitting it with its hammer. Bronco flipped Blacksmith over and as Blacksmith righted itself, its hammer head broke off. Blacksmith immediately went on the defensive, keeping its wedge to Bronco and eventually getting underneath and hitting it with its hammer arm. Bronco retaliated by flipping Blacksmith into the pulverizer. Blacksmith was able to get under Bronco a few times and dodged the flipper, but eventually Bronco got underneath and flipped it on top of the screws again. This time, Blacksmith was unable to free itself and was counted out. Bronco won by KO at 2:16 and Blacksmith was eliminated. However, Blacksmith was awarded one of the eight wild cards most likely for its unique hammer/flamethrower weapon. This put Blacksmith to the round of 32 with its No.26 seeding, where it faced the No.7 seed Minotaur.

Things started out promising for Blacksmith as it withstood Minotaur's spinning drum and pushed it around the BattleBox. Suddenly, Minotaur started to damage the front wedge of Blacksmith and tore it right off as it was being hit by the pulverizer. Minotaur then tore off Blacksmith's top plate and Blacksmith kept going straight at Minotaur with its hammer. Blacksmith was being tossed around the BattleBox by Minotaur's spinning drum and Minotaur pushed Blacksmith onto the screws, where it lost its hammer head again.

While Blacksmith was swinging its hammer arm, Minotaur went straight at Blacksmith with its spinning drum and pushed Blacksmith against the screws. Blacksmith's weapon motor caught fire and it stopped moving. However, there wasn't enough time to count out Blacksmith and the match went to a judge's decision. Minotaur won on a unanimous 3-0 judge's decision and Blacksmith was eliminated from the tournament.

Discovery Season 3

Blacksmith's first match in Season 3 was an undercard match against fallen champion Bite Force. Blacksmith rushed out of its square and tried to hit Bite Force, but the hammer wasn't working correctly and Bite Force got the first hit. After dodging around each other for a while, Bite force landed another

blow, ripping up Blacksmith's armor. Blacksmith was starting to get pushed back by Bite Force and landed two hammer blows before Bite Force flipped it over. Blacksmith quickly self-righted and continued to attack, landing a blow that not only temporarily stopped Bite Force's spinning bar, but lodged the weapon into the gap where Bite Force's weapon is housed, leaving the two temporarily stuck. Blacksmith was not undamaged as the hit had severed its fuel system for the flamethrower. Blacksmith continued to attack, but Bite Force pushed it up on the screws and left it there with only seconds left on the clock. Time ran out and Bite Force won by a unanimous 3-0 judges decision.

In its second fight of the season, Blacksmith had to fight against The Four Horsemen. The fight started with Blacksmith opting to use its wedge over its hammer to avoid taking possible damage from The Four Horsemen. This proved to be a good decision as they were able to easily shove the Four Horsemen around the arena. Blacksmith took the damage dished out by Pestilence and Famine and kept pushing The Four Horsemen around. Blacksmith started taking damage from Pestilence and Famine, but Buttercup was destroyed by its own teammate, allowing Blacksmith to gain the upper hand. Blacksmith continued to attack and managed to cause the spinner of Famine and Pestilence to stop working. With 3 seconds left on the clock, the Four Horsemen were counted out, giving Blacksmith the win to advance to the next stage.

Blacksmith's next opponent was against Witch Doctor and opted to use the front forks it had used against Bite Force. The match started out well for Blacksmith as they were getting underneath Witch Doctor and shoving them into the wall. However, as the match progressed, Blacksmith found itself on the receiving end of multiple attacks and the possible loss of its hammer. On top of all that,

Blacksmith was slower to turn than Witch Doctor, so it was unable to keep its opponent from making hits from the side or rear. However, the fight turned as Blacksmith managed to get fully under Witch Doctor and shove it up onto the arena screws such that the left-front tire of Witch Doctor was between the screws and the arena barrier. Blacksmith celebrated, but at the last second, Witch Doctor wiggled free with 6 seconds left on the clock. Time ran out and Witch Doctor was declared the winner by a 3-0 unanimous judges decision.

Blacksmith next found itself in a rematch against Minotaur from 2016. Blacksmith kept the red front forks to try and keep Minotaur's weapon at bay and/or control the fight using its hammer. This seemed to work out as neither robot dished out any hits for several seconds. However, Blacksmith started to take attacks from Minotaur, though they were mostly sparks. Blacksmith retaliated with its hammer, but dealt about the same level of damage. Blacksmith then had Minotaur underneath, causing more sparks as it was thrown against the arena barrier, but retaliated with its hammer once again. As the fight wore on, Blacksmith was starting to seemingly lose some of its power, but it pressed on and withstood an attack from Minotaur near the pulverizer. Time ran out and the judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision to Minotaur.

Next for Blacksmith was a battle against Warhead in the USA vs The World special tournament. The match was off to a pretty even start for Blacksmith as neither robot wanted to make the first mistake. However, Blacksmith soon found itself in the jaws of Warhead and was engulfed in flames. When released, Blacksmith started to swing the hammer, getting a few shots off before having its hammer in the jaws of Warhead. Blacksmith continued to swing its hammer and was now getting more direct hits, though none causing sufficient damage. Both robots traded blows until Blacksmith got its hammer caught in the gap for Warhead's arm, leaving both robots stuck temporarily. Blacksmith got free, but was taken to the arena barrier in the final seconds of the fight. The judges awarded a 2-1 split decision and 1 point to Warhead and The World.

Discovery Season 4

Blacksmith started off 2019 with a match against newcomer Quantum. Things were off to a bad start for Blacksmith as they were grappled by Quantum and unable to mount any kind of attack since the hammer was out of reach. After several seconds, Quantum was unable to let go as Blacksmith's AR 500 steel armor was actually preventing Quantum from being able to release due to the jagged barbs that were created when Quantum bit down so the match was paused (though the separation of bots was cut from the TV airing and the match's later resuming was spliced with the first part). Blacksmith didn't have any real offense against the crusher and was bitten down again. This time, Blacksmith was carried around the arena and still wasn't able to be let go. This resulted in the fight ending early as the result probably would've been the same. The judges were called in and awarded Quantum a unanimous 3-0 decision.

Next for Blacksmith was against Matt Spurk and Kraken. As the match began, Blacksmith was having trouble landing hits but managed to start landing several in a row, though none causing significant damage. Blacksmith continued to fire the hammer, and was eventually grabbed by its opponent but thankfully this didn't cause much damage either. Blacksmith continued swinging its hammer as time ran out. The judges awarded Blacksmith a 2-1 split decision.

Blacksmith's next opponent was against Jamison Go and SawBlaze. For this fight, Blacksmith added triangular-shaped extrusions to the top armor to protect itself from SawBlaze's new weapon. When the match began, both robots struggled to get underneath as SawBlaze's front kept rising off the arena floor but Blacksmith couldn't really capitalize. Eventually, Blacksmith was shoved against the arena wall and started to take damage. Blacksmith was free and managed to get some hits on with its hammer. Blacksmith was then again on the receiving end of SawBlaze's attack. Blacksmith retaliated before being shoved into the arena barrier. Time ran out and the judges awarded a 2-1 split decision to SawBlaze.

With only a win over Kraken thus far, Blacksmith was now looking to improve its odds of being selected for the Top 16 and was placed against Brian Nave and Captain Shrederator. Blacksmith opted to add its anti-spinner configuration, intending to use it to stop Captain Shrederator from spinning and then attack. As the match began, Blacksmith did just that, taking the hits from their opponent without suffering any damage. Blacksmith continued to take the hits, occasionally being sent flying in the opposite direction as a result but was still strong enough to survive. Eventually, Blacksmith got Captain Shrederator up on the screws but Captain Shrederator escaped. Blacksmith managed to get them to the pulverizer before using its weapon to cook Captain Shrederator's top. Soon, Captain Shrederator's weapon stopped and smoke began to pour out. Blacksmith managed to take Captain Shrederator back to the screws and flip it over. With no way to right itself, Captain Shrederator was counted out, giving Blacksmith the win by KO.

Blacksmith was now on the verge of the Top 16 bracket and was given Rotator and Victor Soto for that chance to make it into the bracket. As a result, Blacksmith opted for its anti-spinner wedge. The match was pretty even to start as Blacksmith was absorbing the impacts from Rotator's upper disc but quickly lost the use of its hammer, although the hammer was still spitting out flames. Blacksmith continued to use its wedge against Rotator and eventually gave Rotator drive issues near the screws. Blacksmith then took advantage of Rotator's spin technique by flipping them over and shoving them under the pulverizer. Rotator had little left to do but both robots survived to the end of the match. The judges awarded Blacksmith a unanimous 3-0 decision and a place in the Top 16.

Having fought so hard for to make the Top 16, Blacksmith and Al Kindle were now facing a rematch with Witch Doctor and opted for their green front forks. As the match got underway, Blacksmith unfortunately was on the receiving end of several hits, though none causing much damage. As the match progressed, Blacksmith's front forks were becoming bent and they were pushed on top of the screws. Eventually, Blacksmith escaped, but took more damage and smoke was beginning to pour out. Blacksmith was then flipped under the pulverizer, but self-righted and was now on fire. Blacksmith kept going despite the damage and flames until it finally couldn't take any more punishment and stopped moving. Blacksmith was counted out, giving Witch Doctor the win by KO.

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 5
• Losses: 9

Competition	Wins	Losses
ABC Season 2	Gemini and Basilisk	Bronco Minotaur
Discovery Season 3	The Four Horsemen (Undercard Match)	Bite Force (Undercard Match) Witch Doctor (Undercard Match) Minotaur (Main Event/Undercard Match) Warhead (USA vs. The World)
Discovery Season 4	Kraken (Undercard Match) Captain Shrederator (Undercard Match) Rotator	Quantum (Undercard Match) SawBlaze (Undercard Match) Witch Doctor

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"Aww Snookie. From New Jersey so you know it's a shore thing. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"Bang Bang into the box. This bot rules the school of hard knocks. It’s BLACKSMITH!"

"It's got a flaming hammer to swing and its always thinking one thing, "Yeah! I hit that!" Here to get it on, it's BLACKSMITH!"

"Whoop, whoop! This is not a drill. It's hammer time. Here to pound you like Play-Doh, the jersey thornado, BLACKSMITH!"

"In west Philadelphia, born and raised where the slayed spent most of his days. You know who it is. It's the Death Prince of Hell Air, BLACKSMITH!"

"Hang with this bot and you will get hammered. Here to serve a round of bruise, the man, the myth, it's BLACKSMITH!"

"The Jersey Boss should be called Bot Springsteen. It'll leave you Torn in the USA, it's BLACKSMITH!"

"I don't know if this New Jersey bot is in the Mafia but it's definitely out to put a hit on ya. Bot-a-bing, bot-a-boom. Its flaming hammer will send you to your tomb. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"This bot's like a mob boss. It'll smash you into kapeashes. He's no good fella, so you better not flip, because he will never, ever forget about it. Here to amuse you is BLACKSMITH!"

"Back from the fiery furnace, this bot is bringing the heat. Prepare to be lathed to the ground. He dealt it, now he's gonna smelt it. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"You know his name. Al be Kindle, Al be quick. Al be swinging a big, flaming stick. Sorry you turned up, you're about to get burnt up. It's the flaming hammer of myth, the one and only, BLACKSMITH!"

"This is not a drill. I repeat, this is NOT a drill. It's a flaming hammer and it maims at will. It's BLACKSMITH!"

Merchandise

Any appearances by Blacksmith in merchandise are listed below:

• Blacksmith/Tech4Kids
• Blacksmith/Hexbug RC