Robotic Death Company, sometimes shortened to RDC, are an active team who competed in the final three seasons of Comedy Central BattleBots, and every season since returning in World Championship II.
They are best known for their heavyweight entry Gigabyte, which won the Son of Whyachi bracket of BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, but have since also competed with vertical spinner Cobalt.
The team with Gigabyte during World Championship VII.
The team originally competed in the final three seasons of Comedy Central BattleBots with an array of robots, including Agsma, Rambite and Megabyte. However, neither achieved much success before the show was axed following Season 5.0.[1]
With the return of BattleBots, the team entered a modernized version of their iconic design called Invader into World Championship II, which utilized the chassis and drive train of Super Megabyte and sported an alien theme. Despite the team's pedigree, Invader lost its opening melee and did not return. Robotic Death Company prepared another similar shell spinner for the Discovery BattleBots seasons named Gigabyte, boasting a BattleBots career-best Top 16 finish to date.
The team with Cobalt during World Championship VII.
Ahead of the 2021 season, Robotic Death Company purchased powerful vertical spinner Cobalt from veteran British builders Dave Moulds and Sam Smith. The team entered Cobalt into World Championship VI under the captaincy of Brent Rieker and with Matt Maxham behind the wheel. It found more success under its new team, reaching the Top 8 before losing out to eventual Giant Nut winners Tantrum. Following the season, Cobalt was invited to the June 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event, where it defeated Skorpios before losing out to Jake Ewert and Hydra.
As a Bounty winner, Gigabyte competed in the first Sin City Slugfest bracket of BattleBots: Champions I, where it had to defend its title to qualify for the Golden Bolt tournament. However, Gigabyte was deshelled at the hands of bracket winner HyperShock and failed to advance to the Golden Bolt tournament as a result.
The team picked up Sam Smith and Dave Moulds in 2022, reuniting the British builders with Cobalt for the first time since the 2019 season.[2] However, they would be without Brent Rieker as a result of his ongoing battle with cancer. To honor Rieker's contributions as captain and machinist, a cut-out of him would be present throughout filming, frequently accompanying the team's entries on-screen.[3] As such, Derek Tran and Camden Wallraff co-captained Gigabyte during World Championship VII, whereas John Mladenik solely captained Cobalt. Whereas Gigabyte failed to make the Round of 32, Cobalt reached the tournament but fell to Monsoon at that stage.
In February 2023, following a heartfelt segment dedicated to Brent Rieker in Episode 7 of World Championship VII, Gigabyte co-captain Derek Tran confirmed Rieker was 'just about free and clear' of his cancer, hoping he would be well enough to join the team for RoboGames 2023 in April.[4] In a February 2023 AMA with the team, it was confirmed that Rieker would likely return to captaincy for World Championship VIII, and both Sam Smith and Dave Moulds would relinquish control of Cobalt to again focus on family life.[5][6] Gigabyte co-captain Camden Wallraff would also not return after BattleBots: Champions II.[7]
Outside BattleBots[]
Robotic Death Company's original logo.
Megabite was renamed to Megabyte and became a fan favorite on the US live scene and in BattleBots-sanctioned events, alongside its superheavyweight incarnation Super Megabyte, winning many fights and becoming the sport's most dominant shell spinner. Megabyte itself was moved into the superheavyweight division in recognition of its dominance within its own weight class. it was inducted into the Combat Robot Hall of Fame in 2005 with over 60 combat victories to its name.
In 2017, Robotic Death Company built a new version of their iconic shell spinner, dubbed Megabyte 2.0.[8] It made its first appearance at that year's RoboGames heavyweight competition. This incarnation, with a tip speed of 200mph and interchangeable shells, also enjoyed major success as one of the most established international competitors on the Chinese robot combat show King of Bots, finishing third overall in Season 1. A third, gold-painted version was subsequently entered into King of Bots II and the 2018 spin-off This is Fighting Robots, winning six consecutive battles for its team in the former before losing to Xiake.
The team later applied for the 2023 edition of RoboGames, bringing the Megabyte name out of hiatus. However, they withdrew close to the event.
Team Members[]
John Mladenik[]
Overall team captain and founder of Robotic Death Company, John Mladenik is an electrical engineer by day with over 20 years of experience in combat robotics. He has been a part of both Megabyte and Gigabyte, and all others to come, and is regarded as one of the best engineers in the game.
Brent Rieker[]
Joining the team ahead of the 2018 season, Brent Rieker became captain of their newly-acquired Cobalt ahead of the 2021 season, which was driven by Matt Maxham.
However, his unfortunate absence in 2022 meant Mladenik captained Cobalt instead for its second season under the team's ownership.
Derek Tran[]
Co-captain of Gigabyte since World Championship VII, Derek Tran joined the team ahead of the 2021 season.
Derek Tran is described by the team as the 'team nerd and all-around smart guy', specializing in 3D printing.[9] He runs the 3lb robot Night Force, based loosely on Paul Ventimiglia's Bite Force, as well as Record Scratch in the National Havoc Robot League.
Camden Wallraff[]
Also joining in World Championship VI, Camden Wallraff was secondary captain . He specialized in finite element analysis, using software to simulate how parts of the robot would behave under specific conditions. He would not return after Gigabyte's run in BattleBots: Champions II.
Mark Liu[]
Part of the team for Robotic Death Company's 2019 season, Mark Liu is an NHRL competitor. In January 2024, he placed first in the 12lb division with Questionable Choices and also operates the 12lber Unreasonable Expectations.
Robots[]
| Robot | Image | Weight Class | Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agsma | 
|
Lightweight | Season 3.0 |
|
Middleweight | Season 4.0 Season 5.0 | |
| Rambite | 
|
Lightweight | Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| Megabyte | 
|
Heavyweight | Season 5.0 2004 NPC Charity Open 2009 Pro Championship |
| Super Megabyte | 
|
Superheavyweight | 2004 NPC Charity Open |
| Invader | 
|
Heavyweight | World Championship II |
| Gigabyte | 
|
Heavyweight | World Championship III World Championship IV World Championship V BattleBots: Bounty Hunters World Championship VI BattleBots: Champions I World Championship VII BattleBots: Champions II BattleBots Proving Ground |
| Cobalt* | 
|
Heavyweight | World Championship VI re:MARS 2022 World Championship VII BattleBots: Champions II |
* Cobalt competed in BattleBots World Championship II and World Championship IV under Team Carbide. Sam Smith and Dave Moulds of Team Carbide joined forces with Robotic Death Company for 2022 filming.
- Wins: 23
- Losses: 24
See Also[]
- Robotic Death Company (RoboGames)
- Robotic Death Company (NHRL)
- Robotic Death Company's website
- Robotic Death Company's legacy website
- Robotic Death Company (Builders DB profile)
References[]
- ↑ http://roboticdeathcompany.com/legacy/index.htm
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/ChUzzpLllaN/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=628476545408710&set=pcb.10160124363464481
- ↑ Message from Derek Tran in the Out of the Arena Discord server
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/115lusf/comment/j92fkhh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/115lusf/comment/j92fggu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ Private correspondence between SFCJack and Robotic Death Company team members
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/RoboticDeathCompany/photos/a.143723766017670.1073741827.143673286022718/522492904807419/?type=3&theater
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/115lusf/cobalt_team_robotic_death_company_ask_me_anything/