Not to be confused with the BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon ShowBot of the same name
Chopper, originally named Can Opener and later called Mad Dog, was a middleweight robot built by Adam Baxter of Team Annihilator. It competed in the final three seasons of the Comedy Central BattleBots.
It was originally a hexagonal robot armed with an undercutting blade powered by an internal combustion engine, and three static spikes. The blade was described as a 'wheel-chopping blade of doom' by the team. The robot debuted in Season 3.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots under the name Can Opener, winning its first match by a convincing judges' decision. However, it lost its second battle to Cheap Shot and was eliminated before the TV rounds.
An inside look at Mad Dog in 2003.
Returning for Season 4.0 under the name Chopper, Adam Baxter's robot again won its first preliminary battle, but fell to Space Monkey one step from the televised rounds.
Chopper at the 2005 Rochester event.
Chopper returned for Season 5.0 and had its most successful competition to date, winning three successive battles but missing out on the TV rounds again as it lost to BattleBots IQ champion Wee Willy Wedgy. Adam Baxter also built a lightweight version with the same design for Season 5.0 named Code:BLACK. The team registered for the 2004 NPC Charity Open with Chopper, now known as Mad Dog, but withdrew due to unconfirmed reasons. It would return with somewhat of a redesign in 2005, finally competing again in the Rochester Robot Rampage event and returning to the Chopper name. There, it made the middleweight quarter-finals and finished with a 2-2 overall record.
Adam Baxter and Tina Balsama with Chopper at Season 4.0
Outside BattleBots[]
Away from BattleBots, Chopper continued to compete under the Mad Dog name. Mad Dog enjoyed a competitive stint at North American live events between 2003 and 2005. Records from BotRank.com suggest that it achieved at least twelve combat victories in 120lb/middleweight competitions, reaching the finals of the July 2003 NC Robot Street Fight 4 and the May 2004 Rocket City Robot Assault events.[2]
According to The Builders Database, Mad Dog was last known to have registered for the SWARC ROBOT REBELLION 5.3 event in August 2005, though it is unknown whether it competed, or how well it performed if it did.[3]
Robot History[]
Season 3.0[] |
|---|
Can Opener vs. Spin Cycle Can Opener's first opponent was Spin Cycle. Can Opener won on a 44-1 judges' decision and moved to the next preliminary round. |
Can Opener vs. Cheap Shot Next up for Can Opener was Cheap Shot. It lost this fight on a close 21-24 judges' decision and was eliminated from the tournament as a result. |
Season 4.0[] |
Chopper vs. Problem Child Renamed Chopper for its second BattleBots appearance, its first round opponent was Problem Child. The two both brought their powerful weapons to bear on each other, and parts flew. After several hits, Problem Child's lower Lexan protection was destroyed and it died. Chopper stopped moving soon after. Problem Child was eliminated, and Chopper moved on. |
Chopper vs. Space Monkey Chopper then fought Space Monkey for a spot in the TV rounds. Chopper's floor-grazing blade got in a few good hits on Space Monkey, and went right under it. However, the blade got bent and Chopper's weapon was out. Space Monkey was narrowly the winner in the pushing match that followed. Chopper's blade eventually fell off, which proved pivotal in the eyes of the judges, who scored the battle 25-20 in favor of Space Monkey. As such, Chopper was again eliminated before the televised battles. |
Season 5.0[] |
Chopper vs. Hoarf   Chopper strikes Hoarf. |
Chopper vs. A-10 Thunderbolt Now it faced A-10 Thunderbolt. It won this match by KO after completely destroying A-10 Thunderbolt and moved on in the tournament. |
Chopper vs. Slap 'Em Sillier Now it faced Slap 'Em Sillier. Before the fight began, Chopper's team was unable to get the gas engine for the weapon started. They asked for a postponement but the Slap 'Em Sillier team refused. As a result, Chopper went into the fight without a working weapon. At some point during the fight, the heavier Slap 'Em Sillier robot stopped working and Chopper ultimately won by knockout. |
Chopper vs. Wee Willy Wedgy This win put Chopper through to the next round, where it was now against the first BattleBots IQ champion Wee Willy Wedgy. However, it lost and was eliminated from the competition. |
BattleBots Rochester R3[] |
Chopper vs. Royd Rage   Chopper and Royd Rage collide. |
Chopper vs. Green Wave   Chopper's armor is shredded by Green Wave. |
Chopper vs. Funnel Cloud (Forfeit) This loss meant that Chopper was now in the loser's bracket where it was scheduled to fight Funnel Cloud, however its opponent had technical issues and was forced to forfeit. |
Chopper vs. Chaos Toaster Advancing by default, Chopper was now one of the final eight robots remaining in the competition and in the quarter-finals, drew Chaos Toaster. It lost this fight, however, and was eliminated from the competition. |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 7
- Losses: 5
| Competition | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| Season 3.0 | Spin Cycle | Cheap Shot |
| Season 4.0 | Problem Child | Space Monkey |
| Season 5.0 | Hoarf A-10 Thunderbolt Slap 'Em Sillier |
Wee Willy Wedgy |
| R3: Rochester Robot Rampage | Royd Rage Funnel Cloud (Forfeit) |
Green Wave Chaos Toaster |