"When the first BattleBots took place in 1999, Voltronic was there and rarin' to go. Felk has made sure it hasn't missed a single BattleBot fight ever since."
Voltronic, formerly known as Voltarc, was a heavyweight robot which competed in every season of Comedy CentralBattleBots, including both 1999 events in Long Beach and Las Vegas.
Having attended the 1996 US Robot Wars event held by Marc Thorpe, builder and captain Stephen Felk was inspired to make a robot that combined the best features of two prominent competitors - La Machine's wedge and BioHazard's lifter. Felk built the robot in his kitchen with a salvaged electric scooter and sheets of aluminum. The end result was a low profile, invertible, wedge-shaped robot with a lifting arm. On the end of the arm were a set of retractable claws which came out when the lifting arm was raised, making it very difficult for the other robot to escape from the arm. Its armor proved highly durable, and stood up to many destructive robots.
Voltarc under construction in 1999.
The robot was originally called Voltarc, but this had to be changed to 'Voltronic' because the name 'Voltarc' was trademarked by a lighting company. Voltronic featured three spikes at the end of its lifting arm as opposed to just one, but otherwise remained largely similar.
The original Voltarc featured retractable wheelguards which removed its invertibility when active, but protected the wheels from crushers, axes and similar overhead weaponry. These were kept throughout three of Voltronic's seasons, but removed in its final season, but were prevalent for much of its career. Voltarc debuted a hinged scoop at the rear in the 1999 Las Vegas event, which protected its ground clearance but at the risk of high-centering the robot.
Voltronic at Rocklin Mini Maker Fair in 2016.
As both Voltarc and Voltronic, Stephen Felk's machine was a consistent performer throughout its BattleBots career despite never winning a heavyweight championship. It finished runner-up in Las Vegas 1999, Season 1.0 and Season 5.0. It also fell to Vlad the Impaler on three occasions, twice in title deciders and once in the semi-finals of Season 2.0.
Stephen Felk built Mosquito, one third of the superheavyweight multibot The Swarm and continued to compete with it beyond the cancelation of BattleBots on Comedy Central. He has also since built a heavyweight named Pump and joined Gary Gin's Free Shipping ahead of the 2019 season on Discovery. In 2023, he provided commentary for RoboGames.
Voltarc's first match at Long Beach was against Razer. In the beginning of the match, both robots were chasing each other around the BattleBox. After this, Razer got behind Voltarc and started squeezing it with its crushing arm. However, the angle wasn't correct for piercing through Voltarc with too much of its body surface in contact along Razer's crushing arm. Because of this, Razer let Voltarc go and tried to gain a better angle to crush with its arm. Voltarc slammed into Razer from the side and used its lifting arm to lift Razer up and carried it around the BattleBox before pushing it against the arena wall. Razer landed upside-down and Voltarc was doing a victory spin. However, Razer managed to self-right with its 'wings' and got back into the match. The crowd was cheering after this and Razer started attacking Voltarc from the front. Razer managed to puncture a hole through Voltarc's 6mm armor. After this, the time ran out and Razer won by crowd vote.
Voltarc vs. Rhino
This meant that Voltarc was now in the losers bracket, where it faced Rhino. Jim Smentowski's Rhino won by knockout and Voltarc was eliminated from the tournament.
Heavyweight Royal Rumble
Voltarc returned for the Gigabot Rumble at the end of the competition, losing by crowd vote to Razer again.
Las Vegas 1999[]
Voltarc vs. Slugger
Voltarc is stuck under the spikestrip.
Voltarc's first match at Las Vegas was against Slugger. Immediately, Voltarc drove straight onto the ramrods, which pushed the entire robot up, and back down again. Voltarc freed itself and got under Slugger, attempting to ram it into the spikes. Slugger got straight up Voltarc's wedge however and this resulted in Voltarc getting stuck on the spikestrip. Slugger began to spin but the drive chain gave out soon after, leaving Slugger immobile. Nothing happened for over a minute after this point, as neither robot could move due to the predicaments they were in. A restart was called but Slugger claimed defeat and Voltarc won by KO.
Voltarc vs. Razer
Voltarc lifts Razer against the spikestrip.
Voltarc's next fight was a rematch with Razer. In the match, Voltarc lifted Razer against the spikestrip and Razer managed to get its crushing arm onto the front of Voltarc. However, Razer wasn't able to pierce into the armor of Voltarc and the match ended with Voltarc winning on a 7-2 judges' decision.
Voltarc vs. Mortis
Voltarc gets hit by Mortis.
Voltarc lifts Mortis over the killsaws.
Voltarc gets flipped over by Mortis.
This win put Voltarc in the heavyweight quarter-finals, where it faced Mortis. Voltarc got underneath Mortis very early on, lifting it and pushing it into the spikestrip. After Voltarc let it back down, Mortis got some blows in with its axe before being lifted and flipped by Voltarc. Mortis used its own lifting arm to self right and got some more axe blows in, but once again was driven under by Voltarc, before being pushed around and lifted up. Mortis tried to use its lifter against Voltarc, but failed, allowing Voltarc to get underneath Mortis and drag it to the killsaws, despite Mortis trying to free itself using its axe. Mortis eventually escaped and failed to lift Voltarc yet again. Towards the end of the fight, it finally managed to flip Voltarc over and get underneath it, managing to get a few final axe blows in before time ran out. Despite this late effort from Mortis and losing in terms of statistics, the judges ruled a 6-3 decision in favor of Voltarc and Voltarc advanced to the semi-finals.
Voltarc vs. Punjar
Voltarc drags Punjar to the killsaws.
In the final four, Voltarc took on Punjar. Both robots went straight at each other and Punjar pushed Voltarc against the spikestrip. Punjar then drove itself onto the wedge of Voltarc. Punjar was freed and Voltarc got caught on the arena spikes. Voltarc got underneath Punjar and dragged it towards the killsaws. Voltarc did not let go of Punjar before the time ran out. Voltarc won on a unanimous 9-0 judges' decision and advanced to the heavyweight finals.
Voltarc vs. Vlad the Impaler
Voltarc is flipped at the beginning of the match.
Now in the title decider, Voltarc fought Vlad the Impaler. Voltarc drove straight at Vlad, but was flipped over straight away by its forks. Voltarc was flipped again after Vlad had lined up another attack. Voltarc was then picked up and slammed against the arena wall with one of Vlad's forks caught inside Voltarc's wheel. Voltarc was driven into the killsaws repeatedly by Vlad the Impaler. Vlad had been driving around in circles with Voltarc still caught on its fork for a while and drove it into the killsaws in the last 20 seconds as time ran out. The resulting 9-0 decision in Vlad's favor meant that Voltarc finished runner-up for the Las Vegas event.
Season 1.0[]
Voltarc vs. Bender
Voltarc lifts Bender.
Voltarc returned for Season 1.0 as the No.2 seed. It had every one of its Season 1.0 fights aired on television, and was first drawn up against Bender, after receiving a first round bye. Voltarc immediately cruised towards Bender, which was still in its square, trying to get its disc up to speed. The initial contact between the two Heavyweights caused Bender to drive up Voltarc's wedge but was not enough to tip Bender over. Voltarc then went in for another attack and pushed part of Bender into the spikestrip. It followed this up by pushing Bender around the BattleBox for a bit and knocking off Bender's rear-mounted caster wheel, hindering movement and making Bender less capable of hitting a target. After this, Voltarc drove Bender into a wall, before using its lifting arm to mount Bender onto a spikestrip. Bender escaped, only to drive straight into Voltarc's wedge again, taking itself, and Voltarc, over the killsaws. Bender got its disc up to full speed, but was unable to attack Voltarc due to the loss of its caster. Voltarc continued pushing Bender about and the time ran out shortly after. Voltarc won on a unanimous 9-0 judges' decision and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Voltarc vs. BioHazard
Voltarc drags BioHazard into the killsaws.
Voltarc now took on BioHazard. The match began with both bots circling each other, before BioHazard moved in and almost lifted Voltarc, twice. However, the tide turned when Voltarc was able to get underneath BioHazard and lift it up with its articulated arm. BioHazard could not free itself and was completely at Voltarc's mercy for the rest of the match, visiting every killsaw in the BattleBox and shredding many sparks from BioHazard's armor. The time ran out and Voltarc won on a unanimous 9-0 judges' decision.
Voltarc vs. KillerHurtz
Voltarc lifts KillerHurtz against the killsaws.
This win put Voltarc to the semi-finals, where it faced KillerHurtz. KillerHurtz immediately charged across the BattleBox but impaled itself on Voltarc's lifting arm. It could not do anything to retaliate, as its axe was destroyed in a previous bout against Mauler and there was not enough time to fix it. KillerHurtz was then let free and rammed Voltarc before accidentally driving itself into the killsaws, leaving 2 thin cuts on its front right lexan panel. Both robots charged across the BattleBox, and KillerHurtz bumped into Voltarc before backing off. For a while, neither robot made contact, positioning for an attack, but then KillerHurtz drove itself into the spikestrip and lost its top-mounted union jack, before driving over the killsaws, causing further damage. KillerHurtz continued driving over killsaws, out of control before Voltarc got underneath and activated its lifting arm. KillerHurtz was lifted onto the killsaws, cutting into the electronics. KillerHurtz was unable to do anything and came out of the fight heavily damaged. Voltarc won on a 8-1 judges' decision and moved onto the final.
Voltarc vs. Vlad the Impaler
Voltarc gets flipped by Vlad the Impaler.
In the final, Voltarc again fought Vlad the Impaler in a rematch from the Las Vegas 1999 final. The fight began with Voltarc charging across the BattleBox, only to drive itself onto Vlad the Impaler's lifting forks. Luckily, Voltarc escaped before any pushing was done. After an inactive period, Vlad the Impaler got underneath Voltarc and rammed it fast enough to flip it upside down. Voltarc was unable to self-right, due to not being equipped with a self righting mechanism at the time of this battle. Vlad the Impaler won by a KO in a time of 1:42, leaving Voltarc as runners-up for a second season in a row.
Heavyweight Royal Rumble
Voltarc returned for the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. Voltarc was one few robots still moving in the end, but lost out to BioHazard.
Season 2.0[]
Voltronic vs. Dreadbot
Voltronic lifts Dreadbot under the pulverizer.
Voltarc returned for Season 2.0, now under the name 'Voltronic'. Like every other heavyweight that competed in Season 2.0, it received a first-round bye due to the lack of heavyweight competitors. Its first fight was against Dreadbot. Voltronic immediately charged at Dreadbot, but Dreadbot fired its pneumatic ram in an attempt to dissuade Voltronic. Voltronic dodged Dreadbot's attacks and plowed under it, lifting Dreadbot off the ground. Dreadbot still retained good traction on the ground despite this, and both robots continued to ram into each other. Dreadbot then managed to get a couple good shots in the back and side of Voltronic, but caused only superficial damage. Both robots then drove over the killsaws, and Dreadbot received a few holes in its body, but more pushing put Voltronic over the killsaws, after failing to lift Dreadbot onto them. Eventually, Voltronic got a good hold on Dreadbot and placed it under the pulverizer, which made several large dents in Dreadbot's armor. The time ran out and Voltronic won on a unanimous 35-10 decision, placing it into the Round of 16.
Voltronic vs. Bigger Brother
Voltronic flips Bigger Brother.
Here, Voltronic took on Bigger Brother. Voltronic dashed out of the red square and got its lifting arm under Bigger Brother. Voltronic dragged the newcomer to the killsaws and the referees forced the Season 1 runner-up to free its opponent after 30 seconds. Both robots got caught on the killsaws and Voltronic lifts Bigger Brother again. Voltronic took Bigger Brother to the pulverizer and Bigger Brother escapes. Voltronic takes a hit from the pulverizer and gets underneath the front of Bigger Brother. Voltronic started lifting Bigger Brother and flips it against the arena wall. Voltronic pushes it onto the spikestrip and Bigger Brother tries to self-right, but it failed and Voltronic lowered its lifting arm onto Bigger Brother's rear. The time ran out and Voltronic won on a 43-2 judges' decision.
Voltronic vs. FrostBite
Voltronic drags FrostBite to the killsaws.
This win put Voltronic to the heavyweight quarter-finals, where it faced FrostBite. Voltronic immediately charged at FrostBite but missed, and FrostBite began pushing Voltronic from the back, only for Voltronic to escape and match FrostBite's push head-to-head. FrostBite drove Voltronic back towards the killsaws but overshot the mark, causing both of them to take a shot when FrostBite attempted to backpedal. After more pushing matches that seemed to favor FrostBite, Voltronic got underneath from behind and carried Frostbite to two sets of killsaws, though it accidentally backed over the latter. Voltronic then slammed FrostBite against the spikestrip, losing its hold as it backed away. Both robots then seemed to struggle to move, looking nearly immobilized, until Voltronic came alive and rammed FrostBite, shrugging off another hit from the killsaws and backing Frostbite into the spikestrip. Voltronic proceeded to back up and repeat the motion multiple times on FrostBite, still too immobile to move away in time, until time ran out. Voltronic won on a 27-18 judges' decision and advanced to the semi-finals.
Voltronic vs. Vlad the Impaler
Vlad flips Voltronic onto the killsaws.
However, for the third competition in a row, Voltronic was pitted up against the two-time heavyweight champion Vlad the Impaler. Both robots wasted no time at all by charging at each other, with Vlad the Impaler nearly getting a lift on Voltronic, but escaped, almost exactly like in the Season 1.0 final. Voltronic then got underneath Vlad the Impaler and attempted to use its lifting device but had to back off before it could be used to Voltronic's advantage. Vlad the Impaler then ran over the killsaws, but turned around and lifted Voltronic with both its forks, which caused Vlad the Impaler to win the two previous times but this time around, Stephen Felk managed to move Voltronic out of the way. Vlad the Impaler then hit Voltronic on the side, before both robots ran over the killsaws to meet each other in the center of the BattleBox. Vlad the Impaler then got another near-flip on Voltronic, but got out of the way of Vlad the Impaler again. Vlad the Impaler got under once more, but Stephen Felk drove Voltronic out of harm's way yet again. A carefully timed killsaw pop jumped Vlad the Impaler into the air, where Voltronic was waiting directly below, but just like Voltronic had done three times, Vlad the Impaler dodged Voltronic's moves. For a while, neither robot was able to land a significant match-changing move, until the 99th second, where Vlad the Impaler got under Voltronic, and just like the 2 heavyweight finals preceding this one, flipped Voltronic completely over. This move landed Voltronic onto the killsaws, which caused a shower of titanium sparks. Voltronic attempted to self-right, but was too slow and Vlad the Impaler rammed it into the spikes. Voltronic tried self-righting again and again, but the arena wall prevented a successful move. Vlad the Impaler then finished the match by impaling Voltronic onto the spikes and won by a KO at 2:24. This knocked Voltronic out of the competition yet again and this was the last time these two met.
Heavyweight Royal Rumble
Voltronic also participated the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. It was one of few robots still moving in the end but lost overall to Tazbot.
Season 3.0[]
Voltronic vs. Greenspan
Voltronic pushes Greenspan to the pulverizer.
Due to being a former semi-finalist, Voltronic was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 3.0, opening with a fight against Greenspan. During the match, Voltronic immediately lifted Greenspan and dragged it around the BattleBox. Greenspan tried to get around the wedge of Voltronic, but Voltronic managed to lift the side of Greenspan and dragged it to the pulverizer. Greenspan took 30 seconds of hits from the pulverizer. Greenspan eventually stopped moving and was counted out. Voltronic won by KO and advanced to the Round of 16.
Voltronic vs. Bacchus
Voltronic lifts Bacchus.
Voltronic was lifted and pinned into the spikestrip by Bacchus.
In the Round of 16, Voltronic took on Bacchus. Voltronic immediately got under Bacchus, but the former semifinalist ends up driving over the killsaws. Voltronic slid under Bacchus again and enacted its plan with a second attempt. Bacchus pushes Voltronic over the killsaws and later drove itself over the hazard again. Bacchus got a small lift on Voltronic and forced it to drive under the pulverizer for it took a hit. Voltronic wedged under Bacchus again, but the latter drives right over the wedge. Bacchus pushed and lifted Felk's robot against the arena wall before executing a pin on Voltronic. Bacchus made sure to keep it on the wall even when it fell. Voltronic escapes and gets under Bacchus. Voltronic's arm goes up and Bacchus's wheels are off the ground, but when Voltronic tries to move, Voltronic simply shakes in a decidedly abnormal manner because Voltronic was lifting Bacchus on the floor spinner. Voltronic reversed from the floor spinner, taking Bacchus with it. Voltronic tried to back Bacchus under the pulverizer, but Voltronic was having traction troubles. All Voltronic can do is move an inch forward or backward so it lifted Bacchus off the ground before the time ran out. Voltronic won on a close 25-20 judges' decision and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Voltronic vs. OverKill
OverKill pushes Voltronic.
Next up for Voltronic was OverKill. After being pushed around the BattleBox by OverKill at one point, the time eventually ran out and OverKill won on a 30-15 judges' decision. This meant that Voltronic was eliminated from the tournament again.
Heavyweight Royal Rumble
Voltronic again fought in the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. Its first target was MechaVore, then was almost flipped by HexaDecimator. It was then targeted by FrenZy before returning to MechaVore. Voltronic turned its attention to Nightmare until KillerHurtz started going after Stephen Felk's bot. HexaDecimator later flipped it onto its side, where it remained until Sharkbyte bumped it over. Late on, Voltronic attacked Little Sister and was still moving in the end, but lost out to HexaDecimator.
Season 4.0[]
Voltronic vs. M.O.E.
Returning for Season 4.0, Voltronic was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds and and faced M.O.E. M.O.E. won on a 36-9 judges' decision and Voltronic was eliminated from the tournament again.
Voltronic was scheduled to compete in the Consolation Rumble at end of the tournament, but due to technical issues, it was forced to pull out.
Season 5.0[]
Voltronic vs. Diskontent
Voltronic fighting Diskontent.
Voltronic's first match was against newcomer Diskontent. After pushing Diskontent around the BattleBox at one point, Voltronic pushed it under the pulverizer. This most likely immobilized Diskontent and it was being counted out. Voltronic won by KO and advanced to the next round.
Voltronic vs. Stealth Terminator
Voltronic takes Stealth Terminator to the pulverizer.
Next up for the former runner-up was Stealth Terminator. Like the last match, Voltronic pushed Stealth Terminator under the pulverizer and shortly after, Stealth Terminator stopped moving and it was being counted out. Voltronic won by KO and advanced to the quarter-finals again.
Voltronic vs. Omega-13
Omega-13 drives over Voltronic.
Voltronic's next opponent was Omega-13. The match was close as Omega-13 kept driving over Voltronic's wedge and pushed it over the killsaws, but got pushed by Voltronic and was sent to the pulverizer until the time ran out. Voltronic won the match on a close 24-21 judges' decision and advanced to the semi-finals.
Voltronic vs. OverKill
Voltronic fighting OverKill
In the semi-finals, Voltronic took on Christian Carlberg and OverKill for a second time. Eager to earn revenge, the rematch went the distance and Voltronic won the fight on a close 24-21 judges' decision.
Voltronic vs. BioHazard
Voltronic is lifted against the wall.
Voltronic once again moved on and into the heavyweight finals, where it faced BioHazard in another rematch. However, BioHazard got the better of the early exchanges, winning the ground game. BioHazard lifted it sideways towards the wall, but Voltronic escaped. BioHazard attempted this two more times, and this eventually resulted in Voltronic stuck on its back with no way of self-righting. Voltronic was deemed immobile, and finished runner-up for a third time in its career.
"From San Francisco California weighing in at 208½ pounds with a number 16 ranking and from creator Stephen Felk. Introducing VOLTARC!"
"Its a wedge design with Armageddon in mind. Say your prayers and beg for mercy from the 210 pound killer shark, VOLTARC!"
"He slams, he rams, he silences the lambs, VOLTARC!"
"Its just another day in the park, the park of death. Its no picnic when your fighting the all American, VOLTARC!"
"He'll deface you, he'll disgrace you. Odds are he will waste you. Here is VOLTRONIC!"
"Proof that killer robots can't be rehabilitated and set free in a civilized society. This is VOLTRONIC!"
"The challenger. He's fought long and hard to get here and now is the time. Here is VOLTRONIC!"
Voltarc's Season 1.0 stats according to the TV show.
Voltronic's Season 2.0 stats according to the TV show.
Voltronic's Season 3.0 stats according to the TV show.
Toro flips Voltronic while on Nash Bridges.
1/4
Trivia[]
Toro and Voltronic appeared in an episode of Nash Bridges named Blood Bots.
Voltronic was one of the few robots that got more than one rematch against the same opponent, it fought Vlad the Impaler three times, more so than other robots that had fought each other more than once. Nightmare also did this.
Voltronic still exists today as it made an appearance at the Rocklin Mini Maker Fair, though not in the condition it was in during competition.
