Black Ice

Black Ice
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship II
Team Information
Team	Team Black Ice
Team Members	Dan Barry (Captain) Dan Parrish
From	South Hadley, MA
Robot Statistics
Weight	250lbs
Weapons	Harpoon "shooter" Twin vertical spinners Detachable steel bar
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Black Ice was a robot designed and built by former astronaut Dan Barry and his team of the same name which competed exclusively in BattleBots World Championship II.

The robot featured two curved wedges at the front and rear and similar in shape to former Comedy Central era competitor Punjar. However, Black Ice was equipped with a flywheel-driven tethered harpoon weaponry measuring 5" in length, as well as two small vertical spinners protruding from the front. It also featured a very unique form of defence - an electromagnetic bar of steel which Black Ice would drop at the beginning of the fight and attract to the steel floor. Once placed, the idea was for opponents to drive into or over it and become stuck.

Black Ice enters the BattleBox.

Despite having multiple ways to attack, Black Ice did not have a self-righting mechanism or any way to run inverted. It also struggled to utilize its offensive weaponry in combat, with its vertical spinners suffering from limited reach and its harpoon weaponry failing to fire across both of its fights.

"As submitted to the selection committee, Black Ice had a few weapons in the design, and the builder/driver was an astronaut so there was a great story to it. As competing though, all it had working was the small slit saws in the one large wedge face. So it was technically legal - there was an active weapon. But it really wasn't what was expected by the show when they picked them to be there."

— Ray Billings on Black Ice

Black Ice's depiction on the official World Championship II competitors t-shirt.

Captain Dan Barry built the robot in his garage over the course of a few weeks, with minimal machining and little in the way of sponsorship. Black Ice made waves early in the tournament, winning its qualifier round against two robots who would become household names in future seasons of the show, but lost convincingly to eventual champions Tombstone in the Round of 48.

Despite a contact of Dan Barry stating he would "love to compete again if all goes well", neither he nor Black Ice would return for future seasons of BattleBots. However, the robot remains in the team's possession.^Citation?

Robot History

World Championship II
Black Ice vs. Skorpios vs. Bad Kitty Black Ice was forced to go through a preliminary qualifying round in order to advance to the main bracket. Its two opponents in this match were Skorpios and Bad Kitty. "Ready to go!" — Dan Barry pre-fight Black Ice watches on as Bad Kitty evades its roadblock. At the start of the match, Black Ice dropped its roadblock bar, then drove over to where Skorpios and Bad Kitty were fighting. Bad Kitty's first hit on Black Ice disabled the flywheel powering its harpoon weapon, but Skorpios managed to lodge itself underneath the screws and became immobilized, reducing the rumble to a 1v1. Black Ice approaches an inverted Bad Kitty as Skorpios attacks the screws. Turning its attention to Bad Kitty, Black Ice used its lower wedge to drive its opponent around the arena and ultimately flipping it over. Alison Haislip interviewing Dan Barry after their qualifying rumble win. Bad Kitty was unable to right itself, giving Black Ice the win with 25 seconds remaining and a place in the tournament bracket.
Black Ice vs. Tombstone This win put Black Ice to the Round of 48, where it faced the previous season's runner-up, Tombstone. Black Ice went into this fight without its electromagnetic barrier for unknown reasons. Tombstone attacks Black Ice. Black Ice was fastest out of its starting square, but Tombstone wasted little time in spinning up and slamming into its side. Ray Billings' robot then hit Black Ice head-on, causing a gash on the right side of its curved front scoop. After a third hit, both robots were in the corner of the BattleBox and Dan Barry's robot was reduced to driving in circles as its left-side drive had died. Black Ice becomes caught on the arena. Though Tombstone drove weapon-first into the spiked barrier, this did not appear to harm the horizontal spinner as it looked to immobilize its opponent. Tombstone grazed the rear scoop of Black Ice, whose top panel was now sitting loose as the damage began to mount up. Black Ice was unable to escape the corner and then beached itself on the arena. Tombstone used its weapon to carve into Black Ice's side armor before referee Michael Ayers acknowledged Dan Barry's robot could no longer move. A count began, and Tombstone advanced. Black Ice was not selected be a wildcard, meaning it was eliminated from the tournament.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship II	Skorpios & Bad Kitty	Tombstone

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"From the immortal words of the philosopher Wesley Snipes, always bet on BLACK ICE!"

"Is there ice on the road? 'cause you're about to get a-salted! It's BLACK ICE!"

Trivia

• Prior to competing in World Championship II, Black Ice captain Dan Barry previously competed in the CBS show Survivor: Panama, where he was the sixth person to be voted out.