Bombshell

Bombshell's Discovery Season 4 appearance.

Bombshell was a robot which competed in Season 2 of ABC's BattleBots reboot and the first two seasons on Discovery and Science. It was dubbed a "Swiss army bot" due to its massive assortment of interchangeable weaponry: a large axe, a set of lifting forks, a vertical disc set within a wedge and an articulated horizontal blade. Bombshell was also joined in the BattleBox by Short Fuse, a flying drone equipped with a flamethrower.

Bombshell was created by a team of Georgia-based roboteers well known for their entries into the long-running Robot Battles series of events. Bombshell earned its name after it was constructed within an old WWII bunker within Georgia.

Bombshell had a bad start in the round of 48, losing to Complete Control by a unanimous decision, but was brought back as a wildcard and did very well afterwards, reaching the championship after taking out Cobalt, Red Devil, Poison Arrow and Minotaur, before losing to Tombstone by a knockout in the finals.

For Season 3, Bombshell was redesigned with a sleeker body and it could only be equipped with a vertical spinning disc, due to a lack of time to build different configurations, although they would have two discs to choose from; their signature one from Season 2, or a newer one, which wound up being used for every fight. The drone Short Fuse also did not join Bombshell in Season 3, probably because of the short time to build. Unfortunately, the design proved ineffective as Bombshell lost its first four matches. Bombshell redeemed itself by winning the "Last Chance Rumble" to qualify for the top 16 and defeating top-ranked Tombstone before being KO'd by Lock-Jaw.

For Season 4, Bombshell had a new team leader in Matt Carroll, while its design was based off its Season 2 appearance. For weaponry, Bombshell had gained its modular options once again, in the forms of its signature vertical disc, only with this one being a heavily modified version from the previous two with bigger teeth, and the horizontal bar (much like the old lifter, the bar went unused for the season.) It also went from its eight wheel Colson wheels to four rubber wheels. However, it did much worse than last season, losing all four of its fights.

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

Robot History

ABC Season 2

Bombshell and Short Fuse in Season 2.

Bombshell with its axe covered by a box.

Complete Control carrying and cooking Bombshell.

Bombshell's first fight in BattleBots was against Complete Control. Before the fight, Bombshell's axe was adorned with an empty gift-wrapped box, referencing the box containing a net Complete Control controversially used against Ghost Raptor the year before. Right from the start of the battle, Complete Control grabbed Bombshell, which escaped and managed to use its axe to no effect. Then after another grab, Bombshell managed to get its axe in a chink in Complete Control's armor. Meanwhile, Short Fuse was flying near its main bot and nearly took itself out on impact with the BattleBox floor. Short Fuse then crashed against the lexan wall, rendering itself disabled for the remainder of the match. Complete Control grabbed Bombshell, lifting it up and using its flamethrower to fry its internals. Eventually, Complete Control dropped a smoldering Bombshell in the corner before picking it up once more, taking it to the pulverizer until time ran out. Complete Control's impressive performance resulted in a win by a unanimous judges decision. However, Bombshell was awarded one of the eight wild cards most likely for its flame breathing drone Short Fuse and its interchangeable weaponry.

Bombshell with its horizontal blade.

Bombshell tearing into Cobalt's wheels.

This put Bombshell to the round of 32 with its No.19 seeding, where it faced the No.14 seed Cobalt. For this match, Bombshell was fitted with its articulated horizontal blade and planned to cut Cobalt's wheels off from the top half of the bot. The match started out fairly evenly as both robots made contact with Cobalt backing in to save its weapon. Bombshell got in some sparks before its blade sliced off half a tire from Cobalt's wheel. After a few more attacks, Bombshell tore off the other tire, leaving Cobalt unable to move around the BattleBox. Cobalt was counted out and Bombshell advanced to the round of 16, where it faced the No.30 seed Red Devil.

Bombshell's only big blow to Red Devil.

Bombshell with the vertical spinning disc.

Things started out well for Bombshell as the first hit on one of Red Devil's track pods tossed Red Devil into the air. However, the impact caused one of the wires leading to a battery powering the weapon to come out, leaving the weapon to power down and turn the match into a pushing match. Regardless, Bombshell continued to stay aggressive as the first hit with Red Devil damaged its track pods, causing Red Devil to have trouble moving around. Bombshell pushed Red Devil towards the pulverizer, but Red Devil escaped at the last second. Bombshell took a shot from the killsaws and the pulverizer before getting Red Devil on its back in front of the screws. Bombshell took a shot from Red Devil's saw onto the front wedge added and was pretty well out of drive power when time ran out. Bombshell won on a unanimous 3-0 judge's decision and advanced to the quarterfinals, where it faced No.27 seed Poison Arrow.

Bombshell leaves Poison Arrow against the wall.

Bombshell decided to go with its powerful vertical spinner weapon again. When the match started, it proved to be a good choice as sparks went flying. After a few more hits, Poison Arrow was sent flying and ended up on its drum against the arena wall. Its driver decided to try and free Poison Arrow with the drone, but it came up short. As Poison Arrow was being counted out, Bombshell struck both the drone, sending it into Poison Arrow, as well as the main bot itself, hard enough to free it from the wall. More sparks were made as the robots collided, but Bombshell landed a strong hit that sent Poison Arrow flying to just behind the screws where it couldn't move. Poison Arrow was counted out at 1:35 and Bombshell advanced to the semifinals, where it faced No.7 seed Minotaur.

Minotaur grinds into Bombshell's wedge.

Bombshell flings Minotaur away.

Bombshell takes a hit.

Bombshell kept its disc spinner for this fight. The match started out fairly evenly for Bombshell as neither robot gained the upper hand. However, Minotaur eventually managed to tear off Bombshells left side. But several seconds later, Bombshell started to inflict some hits on Minotaur, including one that flipped Minotaur over and dislodged a drive train. Minotaur used its drum's gyroscopic forces to help steer, but Bombshell kept coming after it. However, Bombshell's weapon had lost one of its teeth from one of the collisions with Minotaur's drum and was suffering a similar wiring problem to its match with Red Devil. Luckily for Bombshell though, the gyroscopic forces of Minotaur's drum caused Minotaur to eventually land upright where its bottom plate that had been torn upwards by one of Bombshell's attacks, kept Minotaur's remaining working wheel off the arena floor. Minotaur was counted out at 2:50 and Bombshell advanced to the championship where it faced No.1 seed Tombstone.

Tombstone attacks Bombshell.

In this match, due to its disc spinner being badly damaged in the previous match, Bombshell opted to go with the horizontal spinning bar it used to defeat Cobalt in hopes of disabling Tombstone's weapon by hitting the chain. However, this proved ineffective against Tombstone as it was too low to reach the chain and Bombshell's side was ripped open by Tombstone after the first impact when its bar knocked it into Tombstone's blade. Bombshell continued maneuvering, but Tombstone continued to attack, tearing off

Tombstone ripping wheels off of Bombshell.

wheels and eventually immobilizing Bombshell, possibly as a result of one side's drive having a dead speed controller and the other side being unable to touch the floor. Tombstone circled around the then smoking Bombshell and just before the K.O. countdown started, Tombstone went in for a ravaging finisher, aiming for Bombshell's exposed chassis, violently shredding all of bombshell's external armor and some parts of the chassis into the BattleBox walls, in-box cameras, and behind the kick plate next to the drivers stand. Bombshell was counted out and Tombstone won by KO at 53 seconds to take the championship giant nut, eliminating Bombshell from the tournament which marked the first time in the new BattleBots that the championship was decided by a knockout.

Discovery Season 3

Bombshell's Discovery Season 3 appearance.

Bombshell is high centered by Lock-Jaw.

Bombshell's first match in season 3 was an undercard match against Lock-Jaw. At the start of the match, both robots rushed out to the center of the arena. Both delivered minor damage to each other before Lock-Jaw got its forks under Bombshell and flipped it. Bombshell drove around for a bit trying to right itself and Lock-Jaw hit it again, causing Bombshell to become high-centered on its own wedge. Normally, Bombshell's weapon would've been able to get Bombshell back over, but the weapon had so much torque that it was slipping on the belt that powered it. Unable to move, Bombshell's countdown was underway, but with 2 seconds left, Lock-Jaw hit Bombshell back so its wheels were touching the floor. After this, Bombshell went at Lock-Jaw and ran over it. Lock-Jaw eventually high-centered Bombshell again, this time against the arena wall and Bombshell was counted out, giving Lock-Jaw the win by KO at 2:33.

Bombshell is tossed over the barrier.

Bombshell's next opponent was Bronco. In this match, Bombshell was keeping Bronco from getting underneath and managing to land hits on Bronco's armor, but only caused sparks. After nearly flipping Bronco on another hit, Bombshell found itself upside down in the corner of the arena thanks to a big flip from its opponent. Bombshell was left helpless and was eventually thrown out of the arena, giving Bronco the win by KO.

Bombshell splits Yeti's forks.

Bombshell's wheel is damaged by Yeti.

Bombshell catches fire in the final few seconds.

Bombshell's 3rd opponent was against semi-finalist, Yeti. The match started out well for Bombshell as they threw Yeti into the air almost immediately. After the second hit, Bombshell was pushed into the arena screws as Yeti took advantage of the gyroscopic forces plaguing its opponent. Bombshell continued to attack and mangled Yeti's front lifting forks, making them virtually useless. Bombshell then took a hit to the side that tore off one of the wheel guards and bent the axle on that side, causing the wheel to wobble for the rest of the fight. Still, Yeti kept coming, so Bombshell delivered another hit that took off the chain that powered Yeti's drum. Yeti remained sturdy and continued to attack, even without a primary or secondary weapon, so Bombshell struck it again. Unfortunately, as the fight drew to a close, smoke and flames began to appear and Bombshell was no longer moving. The fight went to the judges, who awarded a shocking unanimous 3-0 decision for Yeti, despite all the damage Bombshell did.

Bombshell gets tossed by Bite Force's spinning bar.

Bombshell is tossed out of the arena by Bite Force.

Bombshell's next opponent was the former champion Bite Force. Things were off to a very poor start for Bombshell as the first hit immediately flipped them over, where they had no direct means of self-righting near the arena barrier. There was little else for Bombshell to do and they took two more hits from their opponent, the latter of which sent them out of the arena. Bombshell was counted out, giving Bite Force the win by a KO. This made Bombshell one of only two robots in the season to go 0-4, the other being Chomp.

Bombshell was chosen to take part in a Last Chance Rumble with DUCK!, Gigabyte, Lucky, Valkyrie and Red Devil to determine the 16th seed in the top 16 bracket. The rumble was off to a good start for Bombshell as they managed to throw Gigabyte through the air and into the arena barrier. Bombshell ripped off one of Red Devil's treads, leaving Red Devil immobile on one side. After a few more hits, Bombshell took a big hit from Gigabyte that left them immobile on one side too. As a result, Bombshell was left temporarily inactive while Mike Jefferies took control of Bombshell as he knew how to "crabwalk" the robot. Once things were settled between the drivers, Bombshell then came back to life in the last seconds of the rumble and thus the rumble went the distance. The judges awarded Bombshell the 16th seed in the top 16 bracket, allowing it to advance and get a rematch with Tombstone.

When the match started, Bombshell was off to a good start as they were absorbing hits from Tombstone's weapon while not taking any damage from them in return. After a few hits, Tombstone's weapon chain came off and Bombshell had lost its weapon too, resulting in a pushing match. However, Bombshell got underneath Tombstone and flipped it over, but Tombstone was able to drive inverted. Luckily for Bombshell, Tombstone moved to the corner near the pulverizer and got high-centered on its weapon chain, lifting both of its wheels off the arena floor. Tombstone was counted out, allowing Bombshell to advance to the quarterfinals where it faced Lock-Jaw again.

Bombshell gets tossed onto its back by Lock-Jaw.

The defeated Bombshell catches fire again.

Both robots roamed around the arena a bit before Bombshell was thrown onto its back near the arena barrier and stopped moving. Bombshell's drive speed controller control board shorted out, causing the speed controller for the drive to catch fire and was counted out, eliminating Bombshell from the competition.

Discovery Season 4

Bombshell kicked off its 2019 participation with a redemption battle with DUCK! after its controversial victory in the 2018 Last Chance Rumble. For this fight, Bombshell went with its vertical spinner setup. The match got underway and after some circling, Bombshell found itself on the receiving end of a lift by DUCK! Unfortunately, Bombshell was thrown onto its back and bounced on its spinning disc, landing similarly to its defeats last season. Bombshell was unable to self-right or drive inverted and was counted out, giving DUCK! the win by KO.

Bombshell's next opponent was against quarter-finalist, Rotator. As a result, Bombshell opted to stick with its vertical spinner setup. As the match got underway, Bombshell was having some control by attacking Rotator and sending them flying. Rotator recovered and took another hit. Bombshell then took damage to its side, costing it a drive wheel in the process. After another big hit, Rotator sent Bombshell across the arena, dislodging its left base plate before Bombshell stopped moving since none of its remaining drive wheels were touching the ground due to being too small and was counted out, giving Rotator the win by KO.

Up next for Bombshell was a rematch with Cobalt from 2016. In response, Bombshell was originally planning on using their new horizontal spinner but had technical issues that were unable to be sorted and there was also not enough time to swap out the drive pods. Bombshell was still configured to drive upside down but the wedge was removed to not only allow the weapon to be Cobalt's first contact point but also to avoid getting high-centered on the floor. The match got underway but Bombshell was flipped over while Cobalt was high-centered on the floor. The match was paused and reset (any hint of this was cut from the TV airing.) When the match resumed, Bombshell was thrown into the air, taking Cobalt's wedge extension as a result. Bombshell landed upright and went in for another hit. Much like before, Bombshell went up the front of Cobalt, but this time landed upside down and still had no self-righting mechanism or way of running inverted, due to changing the chassis' position for the drive wheels and the smaller diameter drive wheels. Bombshell was counted out, giving Cobalt the win by a quick KO and sealing its revenge.

Bombshell's fourth match of the 2019 season was a rematch against Lock-Jaw from both instances last season. Bombshell went with its boat configuration and seemingly worked out all the kinks regarding invertibility. The match got underway and Bombshell did well, clipping Lock-Jaw's right rear wheel and hindering Lock-Jaw's ability to drive. However, Bombshell soon took a hit from Lock-Jaw that left it only able to turn in large circles or drive backwards. Bombshell then had some of its side armor damaged by Lock-Jaw before Lock-Jaw started temporarily emitting smoke. Bombshell circled wide in reverse and took another hit that caused it to strike weapon-first into the arena floor and stop working. Bombshell was counted out, giving Lock-Jaw the win by KO.

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 5
• Losses: 11

Competition	Wins	Losses
ABC Season 2	Cobalt Red Devil Poison Arrow Minotaur	Complete Control Tombstone
Discovery Season 3	DUCK!, Gigabyte, Valkyrie, Red Devil and Lucky (Last Chance Rumble) Tombstone	Lock-Jaw (Undercard Match) Bronco (Main Event/Undercard Match) Yeti (Undercard Match) Bite Force (Undercard Match) Lock-Jaw
Discovery Season 4	None	DUCK! (Undercard Match) Rotator (Undercard Match) Cobalt (Undercard Match) Lock-Jaw (Undercard Match)

Note: The Last chance Rumble doesn't contribute to the wins/loss record.

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"Bad for your health, it comes real stealth. Droppin’ bombs on your moms! It’s BOMBSHELL!"

"It rules the 'Box like Kim Jon Kill. Welcome the remilitarized's own BOMBSHELL!"

"They're the Chaos Corps and they're back for more. They'll sign your obituary, "Tanks for the memories". It's BOMBSHELL!"

"If this bot were running for president, it would be called Artilary Clinton. Feel the burn of BOMBSHELL!"

"Practical and tactical with more tools than a Swiss-army knife, You're gonna lose if you can't diffuse BOMBSHELL!"

"This bot is an expert in Wrench Warfare. It's about to stuff you in a hurtlocker. It's BOMBSHELL!"

"Here to get down and dirty from the ATL, it's BOMBSHELL!"

"This bot looks like a military plane but its powerful spinner will drive you insane. You'll end up in the dust feelin' concussed. It's BOMBSHELL!"

"This is one bomb that you can't de-activate. It will straight-up detonate. It's BOMBSHELL!"

"*airraid siren sounds* We're about to enter a state of war. This is defcon 4 and you're about to be blitzkrieged by a bot. It's BOMBSHELL!"

"BOMBSHELL!"

"It won the Last Chance Rumble and earned the final spot. Can it keep the momentum going and remain red-hot? Will it win? How far will it go? Don't light its fuse or else this bot will blow, BOMBSHELL!"

"It just beat the unbeatable, the mighty Tombstone. Can it keep the streak going? What a story to tell. It's about to explode. It's BOMBSHELL!"

"I don't know if this bot shops at Walmart, but it's ready to destroy a Target. Ready to take you to Blood, Bath, and Beyond, it's BOMBSHELL!"

"This bot hails from Georgia, but it ain't no peach. It'll assault you like a German on Normandy Beach. Make some noise on the western front for BOMBSHELL!"

"This bot will have you crying "su-su-sudio." It's gonna stop your two hearts. You're fighting against all odds 'cause there's pain in the air tonight. du-dun-da-dun-dundun. It's BOMBSHELL!"

"If this bot's the steak, you're the gristle. Chew through you just like that. And ain't nobody got time for fat! It's BOMBSHELL!"

Trivia

• Bombshell is the first robot to lose to the same robot twice in one season. It also lost a third time from the same robot in Discovery Season 4.
• Bombshell's only match in the 2019 season not to be a rematch was its fight against Rotator.
• All of Bombshell's opponents in Season 4 had to fight in the play-offs to earn a spot in the Top 16, with only Lock-Jaw succeeding there.