Darkness was a middleweight robot built by Hardcore Robotics which competed in two seasons of Comedy Central BattleBots.
It was a two-wheel drive, invertible thwackbot armed with a long, double-sided pickaxe at the front. Darkness performed well in BattleBots, winning three fights in each of its seasons.
The team that built Darkness made a lightweight version called The Raven for Season 5.0, and would later compete with their Giant Nut-winning heavyweight, Tombstone.
Outside BattleBots[]
Darkness also competed at Steel Conflict 2 under the name Moloch, equipped with a new axe head. There, it lost its opening battle to Misty the WonderBot but won three consecutive fights against Mr. "D", Windstorm and Problem Child to advance deep into the loser's bracket. However, it suffered a loss to Donald Hutson and Karcas, and was subsequently eliminated.
Returning for Steel Conflict 4, it beat Spinzone before losing to Team PlumbCrazy and Devil's Plunger. A second win came against Bit Schlapp, but it is not known whether Hardcore Robotics received any more fights.
Robot History[]
Season 4.0[] |
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Darkness vs. Spike Demon Darkness' first match was against Spike Demon. Spike Demon spent most of the match sitting and waiting as Darkness spun in place, keeping it at bay. Darkness got a few light hits, which were enough to put some dents and holes in Spike, however it still was working fine and it avoided a few hits. Spike Demon pushed Darkness around a little bit, but couldn't really stay under it to shove Darkness around great distances. In the end, Darkness won on a 28-17 judges' decision. |
Darkness vs. Bot-a-Bing This win put Darkness to the next preliminary round, where it faced Bot-a-Bing. In the beginning of the match, Bot-a-Bing charged straight at Darkness before it started spinning. Bot-a-Bing misses Darkness and got stuck under the spikestrip. After this, Darkness tried to free Bot-a-Bing from the spikestrip. However, Bot-a-Bing started smoking and it was being counted out. Darkness won by knockout to continue on. |
Darkness vs. Tesla's Tornado Darkness advanced to the final preliminary round, where it faced Tesla's Tornado. Darkness was hesitant to attack Tesla's Tornado as it spun up and used its meltybrain to spin itself over to Darkness. When they made contact eventually, the bots did hit each other a couple of times and Darkness stopped Tesla's Tornado. Darkness circled its opponent and gave it a few whacks, and rammed it once, causing a part to fly off. The damage received by Darkness from Tesla's weapons wasn't very severe, its shaft was bent and it had a few dents. Darkness won on a 39-6 judges' decision and advanced to the TV rounds. |
Darkness vs. El Diablo   El Diablo hits Darkness. Here it faced the Season 2.0 middleweight runner-up El Diablo. After several hits between the two robots, one hit from El Diablo damaged the battery box and the box slid backwards inside the frame of Darkness. The box pinched the power wire for the radio receiver between the box and the frame, slicing through the wire. This made Darkness immobile and was counted out at 2:37. El Diablo won by KO and Darkness was eliminated from the tournament. Darkness did not compete in the Middleweight Consolation Rumble due to Ray not having time. |
Season 5.0[] |
Darkness vs. Maddgoth Darkness' first match in Season 5.0 was against Maddgoth. In the beginning of the match, both robots went straight at each other, but missed in the middle of the BattleBox. Maddgoth turned around and started chasing Darkness. Darkness started spinning and hits Maddgoth from the front. This hit caused one of Maddgoth's spiked teeth to come off. Both robots backed up and went straight at each other again. This collision caused Maddgoth to lose more spiked teeth. After this, Maddgoth slammed into the front of Darkness, bending one of the support arms. The time ran out after this and Darkness won on a close 24-21 judges' decision. |
Darkness vs. Double Trouble This win put Darkness to the next preliminary round, where it faced Double Trouble. When the match began, both robots went straight at each other in the center of the BattleBox. Darkness started spinning and hits Double Trouble hard on one side. Double Trouble turned around and goes after Darkness. Darkness started spinning in the other direction and came under the back side of the wedge of Double Trouble, which caught one of the rear tires squarely with its pickaxe. That rear tire was no longer turning at that point and Double Trouble was turning in place for a bit. Double Trouble started smoking and the other team was tapping out. Darkness won by knockout and advanced in the tournament. |
Darkness vs. Strange Brew Next up for Darkness was Strange Brew. As the match started, both bots went straight at each other to the middle of the BattleBox. Darkness started spinning and tried to hit Strange Brew, but the pick slid up the side and went right over the top. Strange Brew kept coming at Darkness and Darkness was trying to get a solid hit in. This repeated quite a few times with the pickaxe just sliding up over the top of Strange Brew. Finally, Strange Brew used its flipping arm and tried to flip Darkness. Darkness was spinning in the opposite direction and came around from behind the flipping arm, breaking it free from the cylinder. The flipper was now immobile and just flopping around loose. Despite this, the weaponless Strange Brew was still chasing after Darkness. Darkness started spinning again and its pickaxe penetrated the Lexan armor of Strange Brew. Darkness had Strange Brew at the end of the pickaxe and Darkness attempted to take it toward the spikestrip. However, Strange Brew had the better pushing power and this prevented Darkness to push it against the spikestrip. After this, the match was halted and both robots were separated. After the match restarted, both robots were slightly hitting each other before the time ran out. Darkness won on a close 23-22 judges' decision and advanced to the final preliminary round. |
Darkness vs. Turbo One step from the televised rounds, Darkness took on Turbo. However, Turbo won by knockout and Darkness was eliminated from the competition. |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 6
- Losses: 2
| Competition | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| Season 4.0 | Spike Demon Bot-a-Bing Tesla's Tornado |
El Diablo |
| Season 5.0 | Maddgoth Double Trouble Strange Brew |
Turbo |