Chronic was a heavyweight robot built by Team Chronic, which was designed and built for BattleBots World Championship I on ABC.
It was a rebuilt version of Kronic, one of the best-performing heavyweights on the UK live circuit in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Like its predecessor, its weapon was a large pneumatic, rear-hinged flipper, powered by nitrogen in accordance with BattleBots design rules. However, it did not compete on the show, and was relegated to being an unused reserve robot only used to test lighting and cameras inside the arena ahead of filming. Chronic made sporadic cameo appearances in televised episodes of the 2015 season. In Episode 4, for example, it was briefly seen in The Pits while the HyperShock team worked on their machine prior to its Round of 16 match against Bite Force.
Chronic was not selected to compete in World Championship II for unknown reasons, with Alan Young instead joining Photon Storm for the competition. Team Chronic teased "something new" for World Championship III, but it is not known whether they ultimately applied as the team competed overseas in 2017.
Alan Young would team up with Dave Young to introduce Orion ahead of World Championship V, but the team could not compete due to travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. They were also accepted for World Championship VI but again withdrew, this time due to work commitments.
.jpg "Chronic (2015).jpg (150 KB)")
Outside BattleBots[]
An earlier incarnation of Chronic first competed in Robot Wars under the name Kronic the Wedgehog, later shortened to just Kronic. It had reasonable success, making one heat final and two heat semi-finals, but its real success came on the UK live scene where it boasted back-to-back Annihilator wins before it was retired in 2014.
Following its initial cameo in BattleBots, Chronic was displayed at Glasgow and Manchester Comic Con events in 2015, and would later win a heavyweight competition in Russia.[1][2]
Chronic also fought Beta outside of BattleBots, which was used as a practice match to help build Apollo and also help upgrade Beta.[3] Footage from this fight was televised during the second episode of World Championship II, forming part of a VT segment for John Reid and Team Robo Challenge's machine.
Team MAD built a second Chronic, which competed in Series 8, 9, and 10 of Robot Wars, painted white and named Apollo. It won Series 8 of the show against Carbide, whose team would also compete in BattleBots with Cobalt.
Robot History[]
World Championship I[] |
|---|
Chronic vs. Swamp Thing (Exhibition) In Chronic's only fight, it squared off against Ray Billings' Swamp Thing in a grudge match.  Swamp Thing chases Chronic.   A tailless Swamp Thing fighting Chronic. This was the very first fight in the new BattleBox arena, used to practice filming angles and lighting for the show. No footage of this fight exists as a result, only several images. Chronic was also due to compete in a nine robot rumble at the end of the tournament, but due to time restraints in filming, the rumble never happened. |
Results[]
| CHRONIC | ||
| World Championship I | ||
| 2015 Championship | ||
| Dress Rehearsal | vs. Swamp Thing | Lost (JD) |
Exhibition Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 1
| Competition | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| World Championship I | None | Swamp Thing (Dress Rehearsal) |
See Also[]
- Apollo (Robot Wars)
- Kronic the Wedgehog (Robot Wars)
- Vulcan (King of Bots/This is Fighting Robots)
- Team MAD (Robot Wars)
References[]
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